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ALVMNVS  BOOK  FVND 


THE 
SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 


THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 
BY  ESTHER  SINGLETON  <fe  efc 
WITH  NUMEROUS  ILLUSTRA- 
TIONS FROM  PHOTOGRAPHS 
AND  REPRODUCTIONS  OF 
OLD  WOOD  CUTS  &  &  <&  & 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  CENTURY  CO. 
NEW  YORK    O    O    M  CM  XX II 


Copyright,  1922,  by 
THE  CENTURY  Co. 


Printed  In  U.  S.  A. 


To  THE   MEMORY  OF 

MY  MOTHER 

WHOSE  RARE  ARTISTIC  TASTES  AND  WHOSE  CULTURED 
INTELLECT  LED  ME  IN  EARLY  YEARS  TO  THE  APPRE- 
CIATION OF  SHAKESPEARE  AND  ALL  MANIFESTATIONS 
OF   BEAUTY   IN    LITERATURE   AND   ART 


50 i 883 


PREFACE 

In  adding  another  book  to  the  enormous  number 
of  works  on  Shakespeare,  I  beg  indulgence  for  a 
few  words  of  explanation. 

Having  been  for  many  years  an  ardent  and  a 
devoted  student  of  Shakespeare,  I  discovered  long 
ago  that  there  was  no  adequate  book  on  the  Eliza- 
bethan garden  and  the  condition  of  horticulture  in 
Shakespeare's  time.  Every  Shakespeare  student 
knows  how  frequently  and  with  what  subtle  appre- 
ciation Shakespeare  speaks  of  flowers.  Shakespeare 
loved  all  the  simple  blossoms  that  "paint  the  mead- 
ows with  delight":  he  loved  the  mossy  banks  in 
the  forest  carpeted  with  wild  thyme  and  "nodding 
violets"  and  o'er-canopied  with  eglantine  and  honey- 
suckle; he  loved  the  cowslips  in  their  gold  coats 
spotted  with  rubies,  "the  azured  harebells"  and  the 
"daffodils  that  come  before  the  swallow  dares";  he 
loved  the  "winking  mary-buds,"  or  marigolds,  that 
"ope  their  golden  eyes"  in  the  first  beams  of  the 
morning  sun;  he  loved  the  stately  flowers  of  stately 
gardens — the  delicious  musk- rose,  "lilies  of  all 

kinds,"  and  the  flower-de-luce;  and  he  loved  all  the 

vii 


viii  PREFACE 

new  "outlandish"  flowers,  such  as  the  crown-impe- 
rial just  introduced  from  Constantinople  and  "lark's 
heels  trim"  from  the  West  Indies. 

Shakespeare  no  doubt  visited  Master  Tuggie's 
garden  at  Westminster,  in  which  Ralph  Tuggie  and 
later  his  widow,  "Mistress  Tuggie,"  specialized  in 
carnations  and  gilliflowers,  and  the  gardens  of 
Gerard,  Parkinson,  Lord  Zouche,  and  Lord  Bur- 
leigh.  In  addition  to  these,  he  knew  the  gardens 
of  the  fine  estates  in  Warwickshire  and  the  simple 
cottage  gardens,  such  as  charm  the  American  visitor 
in  rural  England.  When  Shakespeare  calls  for  a 
garden  scene,  as  he  does  in  "Twelfth  Night," 
"Romeo  and  Juliet,"  and  "King  Richard  II,"  it  is 
the  "stately  garden"  that  he  has  in  his  mind's  eye, 
the  finest  type  of  a  Tudor  garden,  with  terraces, 
"knots,"  and  arbors.  In  "Love's  Labour's  Lost"  is 
mentioned  the  "curious  knotted  garden." 

Realizing  the  importance  of  reproducing  an  ac- 
curate representation  of  the  garden  of  Shakespeare's 
time  the  authorities  at  Stratford-upon-Avon  have 
recently  rearranged  "the  garden"  of  Shakespeare's 
birthplace;  and  the  flowers  of  each  season  succeed 
each  other  in  the  proper  "knots"  and  in  the  true 
Elizabethan  atmosphere.  Of  recent  years  it  has 
been  a  fad  among  American  garden  lovers  to  set 


PREFACE  ix 

apart  a  little  space  for  a  "Shakespeare  garden," 
where  a  few  old-fashioned  English  flowers  are 
planted  in  beds  of  somewhat  formal  arrangement. 
These  gardens  are  not,  however,  by  any  means  rep- 
licas of  the  simple  garden  of  Shakespeare's  time,  or 
of  the  stately  garden  as  worked  out  by  the  skilful 
Elizabethans. 

It  is  my  hope,  therefore,  that  this  book  will  help 
those  who  desire  a  perfect  Shakespeare  garden,  be- 
sides giving  Shakespeare  lovers  a  new  idea  of  the 
gardens  and  flowers  of  Shakespeare's  time. 

Part  One  is  devoted  to  the  history  and  evolution 
of  the  small  enclosed  garden  within  the  walls  of 
the  medieval  castle  into  the  Garden  of  Delight 
which  Parkinson  describes;  the  Elizabethan  garden, 
the  herbalists  and  horticulturists;  and  the  new  "out- 
landish" flowers.  Part  Two  describes  the  flowers 
mentioned  by  Shakespeare  and  much  quaint  flower 
lore.  Part  Three  is  devoted  to  technical  hints,  in- 
struction and  practical  suggestions  for  making  a 
correct  Shakespeare  garden. 

Shakespeare  does  not  mention  all  the  flowers  that 
were  familiar  in  his  day,  and,  therefore,  I  have  de- 
scribed in  detail  only  those  spoken  of  in  his  plays. 
I  have  chosen  only  the  varieties  that  were  known  to 
Shakespeare;  and  in  a  Shakespeare  garden  only 


x  PREFACE 

such  specimens  should  be  planted.  For  example, 
it  would  be  an  anachronism  to  grow  the  superb  mod- 
ern pansies,  for  the  "pansy  freaked  with  jet,"  as 
Milton  so  beautifully  calls  it,  is  the  tiny  heartsease, 
or  "johnny- jump-up." 

On  the  other  hand,  the  carnations  (or  "sops-in- 
wine")  and  gilliflowers  were  highly  developed  in 
Shakespeare's  day  and  existed  in  bewildering  va- 
riety. 

We  read  of  such  specimens  as  the  Orange  Tawny 
Gilliflower,  the  Grandpere,  the  Lustie  Gallant  or 
Westminster,  the  Queen's  Gilliflower,  the  Dainty, 
the  Fair  Maid  of  Kent  or  Ruffling  Robin,  the 
Feathered  Tawny,  Master  Bradshaw's  Dainty 
Lady,  and  Master  Tuggie's  Princess,  besides  many 
other  delightful  names. 

I  have  carefully  read  every  word  in  Parkinson's 
huge  volume,  Parodist  in  Sole;  Paradisus  Terres- 
tris  (London,  1629),  to  select  from  his  practical 
instructions  to  gardeners  and  also  his  charming  bits 
of  description.  I  need  not  apologize  for  quoting  so 
frequently  his  intimate  and  loving  characterizations 
of  those  flowers  that  are  "nourished  up  in  gardens." 
Take,  for  example,  the  following  description  of  the 
"Great  Harwich": 


PREFACE  xi 

I  take  [says  Parkinson]  this  goodly,  great  old  English 
Carnation  as  a  precedent  for  the  description  of  all  the  rest, 
which  for  his  beauty  and  stateliness  is  worthy  of  a  prime 
place.  It  riseth  up  with  a  great,  thick,  round  stalk  divided 
into  several  branches,  somewhat  thickly  set  with  joints,  and 
at  every  joint  two  long,  green  (rather  than  whitish)  leaves 
turning  or  winding  two  or  three  times  round.  The  flowers 
stand  at  the  tops  of  the  stalks  in  long,  great  and  round 
green  husks,  which  are  divided  into  five  points,  out  of  which 
rise  many  long  and  broad  pointed  leaves  deeply  jagged  at 
the  ends,  set  in  order,  round  and  comely,  making  a  gallant, 
great  double  Flower  of  a  deep  carnation  color  almost  red, 
spotted  with  many  bluish  spots  and  streaks,  some  greater 
and  some  lesser,  of  an  excellent  soft,  sweet  scent,  neither  too 
quick,  as  many  others  of  these  kinds  are,  nor  yet  too  dull, 
and  with  two  whitish  crooked  threads  like  horns  in  the 
middle.  This  kind  never  beareth  many  flowers,  but  as  it  is 
slow  in  growing,  so  in  bearing,  not  to  be  often  handled, 
which  showeth  a  kind  of  stateliness  fit  to  preserve  the  opinion 
of  magnificence. 

It  will  amaze  the  reader,  perhaps,  to  learn  that 
horticulture  was  in  such  a  high  state  of  development. 
Some  wealthy  London  merchants  and  noblemen, 
Nicholas  Leate,  for  example,  actually  kept  agents 
traveling  in  the  Orient  and  elsewhere  to  search  for 
rare  bulbs  and  plants.  Explorers  in  the  New  World 
also  brought  home  new  plants  and  flowers.  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh  imported  the  sweet  potato  and  to- 


xii  PREFACE 

bacco  (but  neither  is  mentioned  by  Shakespeare) 
and  from  the  West  Indies  came  the  'Nasturtium  In- 
dicum — "Yellow  Lark's  Heels,"  as  the  Elizabethans 
called  it. 

Many  persons  will  be  interested  to  learn  the  quaint 
old  flower  names,  such  as  "Sops-in-Wine,"  the 
"Frantic  Foolish  Cowslip,"  "Jack-an-Apes  on  Horse- 
back," "Love  in  Idleness,"  "Dian's  Bud,"  etc. 

The  Elizabethans  enjoyed  their  gardens  and  used 
them  more  than  we  use  ours  to-day.  They  went  to 
them  for  re-creation — a  renewing  of  body  and  re- 
freshment of  mind  and  spirit.  They  loved  their 
shady  walks,  their  pleached  alleys,  their  flower- 
wreathed  arbors,  their  banks  of  thyme,  rosemary, 
and  woodbine,  their  intricate  "knots"  bordered  with 
box  or  thrift  and  filled  with  bright  blossoms,  and 
their  labyrinths,  or  mazes.  Garden  lovers  were  criti- 
cal and  careful  about  the  arrangement  and  grouping 
of  their  flowers.  To-day  we  try  for  masses  of  color; 
but  the  Elizabethans  went  farther  than  we  do,  for 
they  blended  their  hues  and  even  shaded  colors  from 
dark  to  light.  The  people  of  Shakespeare's  day  were 
also  fastidious  about  perfume  values — something 
we  do  not  think  about  to-day.  The  planting  of 
flowers  with  regard  to  the  "perfume  on  the  air,"  as 
Bacon  describes  it,  was  a  part  of  ordinary  garden 


PREFACE  xiii 

lore.  We  have  altogether  lost  this  delicacy  of  gar- 
dening. 

This  book  was  the  logical  sequence  of  a  talk  I 
gave  two  years  ago  upon  the  "Gardens  and  Flowers 
of  Shakespeare's  Time"  at  the  residence  of  Mrs. 
Charles  H.  Senff  in  New  York,  before  the  Interna- 
tional Garden  Club.  This  talk  was  very  cordially 
received  and  was  repeated  by  request  at  the  home  of 
Mrs.  Ernest  H.  Fahnestock,  also  in  New  York. 

I  wish  to  express  my  thanks  to  Mr.  Norman  Tay- 
lor of  the  Brooklyn  Botanic  Garden,  for  permission 
to  reprint  the  first  chapter,  which  appeared  in  the 
"Journal  of  the  International  Garden  Club,"  of 
which  he  is  the  editor.  I  also  wish  to  thank  Mr. 
Taylor  for  his  valued  encouragement  to  me  in  the 
preparation  of  this  book. 

I  wish  to  direct  attention  to  the  remarkable  por- 
trait of  Nicholas  Leate,  one  of  the  greatest  flower 
collectors  of  his  day,  photographed  especially  for 
this  book  from  the  original  portrait  in  oils,  painted 
by  Daniel  Mytens  for  the  Worshipful  Company  of 
Ironmongers,  of  which  Leate  was  master  in  1616, 
1626,  and  1627. 

The  portrait  of  this  English  worthy  has  never 
been  photographed  before ;  and  it  is  a  great  pleasure 
for  me  to  bring  before  the  public  the  features  and 


xiv  PREFACE 

personality  of  a  man  who  was  such  a  deep  lover  of 
horticulture  and  who  held  such  a  large  place  in  the 
London  world  in  Shakespeare's  time.  The  dignity, 
refinement,  distinction,  and  general  atmosphere  of 
Nicholas  Leate — and  evidently  Mytens  painted  a 
direct  portrait  without  flattery — bespeak  the  type  of 
gentleman  who  sought  re-creation  in  gardens  and 
who  could  have  held  his  own  upon  the  subject  with 
Sir  Francis  Bacon,  Sir  Thomas  More,  Sir  Philip  Sid- 
ney, Lord  Burleigh,  and  Sir  Henry  Wotton — and, 
doubtless,  he  knew  them  all. 

It  was  not  an  easy  matter  to  have  this  portrait 
photographed,  because  when  the  Hall  of  the  Wor- 
shipful Company  of  Ironmongers  was  destroyed  by 
a  German  bomb  in  1917  the  rescued  portrait  was 
stored  in  the  National  Gallery.  Access  to  the  por- 
trait was  very  difficult,  and  it  was  only  through  the 
great  kindness  of  officials  and  personal  friends  that 
a  reproduction  was  made  possible. 

I  wish,  therefore,  to  thank  the  Worshipful  Com- 
pany of  Ironmongers  for  the  gracious  permission  to 
have  the  portrait  photographed  and  to  express  my 
gratitude  to  Mr.  Collins  Baker,  keeper  of  the  Na- 
tional Gallery,  and  to  Mr.  Ambrose,  chief  clerk  and 
secretary  of  the  National  Gallery,  for  their  kind  co- 
operation; to  Mr.  C.  W.  Carey,  curator  of  the 


PREFACE  xv 

Royal  Holloway  College  Gallery,  who  spent  two 
days  in  photographing  the  masterpiece;  and  also  to 
Sir  Evan  Spicer  of  the  Dulwich  Gallery  and  to  my 
sister,  Mrs.  Carrington,  through  whose  joint  efforts 
the  arrangements  were  perfected. 

I  also  wish  to  thank  the  Trustees  and  Guardians 
of  Shakespeare's  Birthplace,  who,  through  their 
Secretary,  Mr.  F.  C.  Wellstood,  have  supplied  me 
with  several  photographs  of  the  Shakespeare  Garden 
at  Stratford-upon-Avon,  especially  taken  for  this 
book,  with  permission  for  their  reproduction. 

E.  S. 

New  York,  September  4,  1922. 


CONTENTS 

PART  ONE 
THE  GARDEN  OF  DELIGHT 

PAGE 

EVOLUTION  OF  THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN     ...  3 

I.    The  Medieval  Pleasance     ....  3 

II.    Garden  of  Delight   .      ,     ,    ; .      .      .  1 1 

III.  The  Italian  Renaissance  Garden     .  15 

IV.  Bagh-i-Vafa  .      .      ,      «  ,  ....  19 
V.    New  Fad  for  Flowers     *      ....  21 

VI.    Tudor  Gardens  .      .      .      .      i    /f      .  25 

VII.    Garden  Pleasures     ......      f  29 

THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN     ......  31 

I.    Flower  Lovers  and  Herbalists  ...  31 

II.     The  Elizabethan  Garden    ^ .  • .      .      .  40 

III.  Old  Garden  Authors     .      .      .    ,>/    ..  68 

IV.  "Outlandish"  and  English  Flowers     .  78 

PART  TWO 
THE  FLOWERS  OF  SHAKESPEARE 

SPRING  :  "THE  SWEET  o' THE  YEAR"    .     .      .      .      .  93 
I.    Primroses,  Cowslips,  and  Oxlips     .      .  93 
II.    "Daffodils  That  Come  Before  the  Swal- 
low Dares"      ,>>-.   "7     ....  109 

III.  "Daisies  Pied  and  Violets  Blue"     .      .  118 

IV.  "Lady-smocks  All  Silver  White"  and 

"Cuckoo-buds  of  Every  Yellow  Hue"  130 
xvii 


xviii  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

V.  -  Anemones  and  "Azured  Harebells"     .  133 

VI.    Columbine  and  Broom-flower     .      .      .  137 

SUMMER:  "SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"      .      .      .     .     .  145 
I.    "Morning  Roses  Newly  Washed  with 

Dew" 145 

II.    "Lilies  of  All  Kinds"     ....  |  .  160 

III.  Crown-Imperial  and  Flower-de-Luce     .  167 

IV.  Fern  and  Honeysuckle  ....      .  175 
V.    Carnations  and  Gilliflowers      .      .      .  181 

VI.    Marigold  and  Larkspur       ....  189 
VII.    Pansies  for  Thoughts  and  Poppies  for 

Dreams 200 

VIII.    Crow-flowers  and  Long  Purples     .      .  207 

IX.    Saffron  Crocus  and  Cuckoo-flowers     .  210 

X.    Pomegranate  and  Myrtle     .      .      .      .  215 

AUTUMN:    "HERBS    or    GRACE"    AND    "DRAMS    OF 

POISON" 224 

I.    Rosemary  and  Rue 224 

II.    Lavender,  Mints,  and  Fennel  .      .      .  231 

III.  Sweet  Marjoram,  Thyme,  and  Savory  236 

IV.  Sweet  Balm  and  Camomile       .      .      .  243 
V.    Dian's  Bud  and  Monk's-hood  Blue     .  246 

WINTER:  "WHEN  ICICLES  HANG  BY  THE  WALL"     .  253 

I.    Holly  and  Ivy     .      .      .      .      .      .      .  253 

II.    Mistletoe  and  Box 261 

PART  THREE 
PRACTICAL  SUGGESTIONS 

THE  LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  AND  SMALL  FORMAL  GAR- 
DENS        269 

I.    The  Stately  Garden 271 


CONTENTS 


XJX 


II.     The  Small  Garden 276 

III.  Soil  and  Seed     .      .      .      .      .      .      .  278 

IV.  The   Gateway      .     .      .      .      .      .-     .  280 

V.    The  Garden  House  .      .      .   :.      .      .  281 

VI.    The  Mount 282 

VII.    Rustic  Arches     .      . 282 

VIII.    Seats 284 

IX.    Vases,  Jars,  and  Tubs 284 

X.    Fountains       .      .      .      ,      .      .      .      .  285 

XI.    The  Dove-cote     .......  287 

XII.    The  Sun-dial       .      .      .      .      .      .      .  288 

XIII.  The  Terrace       .......  289 

XIV.  The  Pleached  Alley       .      .      .      .      .  292 
XV.    Hedges 293 

XVI.    Paths        .........  294 

XVII.    Borders     .      .      .      .      .     '.     ...  295 

XVIII.    Edgings    .     ..     ...     .      .     V    ..     .*'    -  297 

XIX.    Knots        .      .      ....      ..     .     .  298 

XX.    The  Rock  Garden     .      .      ...      .  302 

XXI.    Flowers     .      .      ...    '|      .     '.      .  302 

XXII.    Potpourri        .      .      .      .      .      .  '   .      .  324 

A  MASKE  OF  FLOWERS     .      .      .      .....      .  325 

COMPLETE  LIST  OF  SHAKESPEAREAN  FLOWERS  WITH 

BOTANICAL  IDENTIFICATIONS       .     ;     .     ,     .     .  331 

APPENDIX       .     .     »     .     .  ,   «     .  ,,.     .     .     .     •  333 

ELIZABETHAN    GARDENS   AT   SHAKESPEARE'S   BIRTH- 
PLACE   .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     J     .     .     .  333 

INDEX  ....     *     .     .     *  '  V   .....  347 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Stratford-upon-Avon,  New  Place,  Border  of  Annuals 

Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

Fifteenth  Century  Garden  within  Castle  Walls,  French  8 

Lovers  in  the  Castle  Garden,  Fifteenth  Century  MS.  .  17 
Garden  of  Delight,  Romaunt  of  the  Rose,  Fifteenth 

Century 17 

Babar's  Garden  of  Fidelity .  20 

Italian  Renaissance  Garden,  Villa  Giusti,  Verona     .  29 

John  Gerard,  Lobel  and  Parkinson 32 

Nicholas  Leate 36 

The  Knot-Garden,  New  Place,  Stratford-upon-Avon  .  45 

Typical  Garden  of  Shakespeare's   Time,  Crispin  de 

Passe  (1614) 56 

Labyrinth,  Vredeman  de  Vries 64 

A  Curious  Knotted  Garden,  Crispin  de  Passe  (1614)  64 

The  Knot-Garden,  New  Place,  Stratford-upon-Avon  .  72 

Border,  New  Place,  Stratford-upon-Avon  ....  81 

Herbaceous  Border,  New  Place,  Stratford-upon-Avon  88 

Carnations  and  Gilliflowers ;  Primroses  and  Cowslips ; 

and  Daffodils:  from  Parkinson 97 

Gardeners  at  Work,  Sixteenth  Century     .      .      .      /  112 

Garden  Pleasures,  Sixteenth  Century     .      .      .      .      .  112 

Garden  in  Macbeth's  Castle  of  Cawdor     .      .      .      .  116 

Shakespeare's  Birthplace,  Stratford-upon-Avon     .      .  125 

xxi 


xxii  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING  PAGE 

Elizabethan  Manor  House,  Haddon  Hall  .      .      .      .  136 

Rose  Arbor,  Warley,  England  .      ...      .      .      .  145 

Red,  White,  Damask  and  Musk-Roses ;  Lilies  and  Eg- 
lantines and  Dog- Roses :  from  Parkinson       .      .  160 

Martagon  Lilies,  Warley,  England     .      ..w..  •      .  168 

Wilton  Gardens  from  de  Caux  .      .      .      .      .      .      .  176 

Wilton  Gardens  To-day 176 

A  Garden  of  Delight       .      .      .,.  ..      ...      .      .  184 

Sir  Thomas  More's  Gardens,  Chelsea 193 

Pleaching  and  Plashing,  from  The  Gardener's  Laby- 
rinth       .     ...      .      .      ..,..-.   ...      .      .      .  209 

Small  Enclosed  Garden,  from  The  Gardener's  Laby- 
rinth          209 

A  Curious  Knotted  Garden,  Vredeman  de  Vries     .      .  224 

Garden  with  Arbors,  Vredeman  de  Vries     ....  224 

Shakespeare  Garden,  Van  Cortlandt  House  Museum, 
Van  Cortlandt  Park,  Colonial  Dames  of  the  State 

of  New  York     .      .      ........  241 

Tudor  Manor  House  with  Modern  Arrangement  of 

Gardens 256 

Garden  House  in  Old  English  Garden     ....  272 

Fountains,  Sixteenth  Century     .......  289 

Sunken    Gardens,    Sunderland    Hall,    with    Unusual 

Treatment  of  Hedges     .      ....      .      .      .  304 

Knots  from  Markham 321 

Simple  Garden  Beds 321 


PART  ONE 
THE  GARDEN  OF  DELIGHT 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  SHAKESPEARE 
GARDEN 


The  Medieval  Pleasance 

SHAKESPEARE  was  familiar  with  two  kinds 
of  gardens:  the  stately  and  magnificent  gar- 
den that  embellished  the  castles  and  manor- 
houses  of  the  nobility  and  gentry ;  and  the  small  and 
simple  garden  such  as  he  had  himself  at  Stratford- 
on-Avon  and  such  as  he  walked  through  when  he 
visited  Ann  Hathaway  in  her  cottage  at  Shottery. 
The  latter  is  the  kind  that  is  now  associated  with 
Shakespeare's  name;  and  when  garden  lovers  de- 
vote a  section  of  their  grounds  to  a  "Shakespeare 
garden"  it  is  the  small,  enclosed  garden,  such  as 
Perdita  must  have  had,  that  they  endeavor  to  re- 
produce. 

The  small  garden  of  Shakespeare's  day,  which  we 
so  lovingly  call  by  his  name,  was  a  little  pleasure 
garden — a  garden  to  stroll  in  and  to  sit  in.  The 

3 


4          THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

garden,  moreover,  had  another  purpose:  it  was  in- 
tended to  supply  flowers  for  "nosegays"  and  herbs 
for  "strewings."  The  Shakespeare  garden  was  a 
continuation,  or  development,  of  the  Medieval 
"Pleasance,"  where  quiet  ladies  retired  with  their 
embroidery  frames  to  work  and  dream  of  their  Cru- 
sader lovers,  husbands,  fathers,  sons,  and  brothers 
lying  in  the  trenches  before  Acre  and  Ascalon,  or 
storming  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  and  Jericho ;  where 
lovers  sat  hand  in  hand  listening  to  the  songs  of 
birds  and  to  the  still  sweeter  songs  from  their  own 
palpitating  hearts;  where  men  of  affairs  frequently 
repaired  for  a  quiet  chat,  or  refreshment  of  spirit; 
and  where  gay  groups  of  lords  and  ladies  gathered 
to  tell  stories,  to  enjoy  the  recitation  of  a  wander- 
ing trouvere,  or  to  sing  to  their  lutes  and  viols,  while 
jesters  in  doublets  and  hose  of  bright  colors  and 
cap  and  bells  lounged  nonchalantly  on  the  grass  to 
mock  at  all  things — even  love! 

In  the  illuminated  manuscripts  of  old  romans, 
such  as  "Huon  of  Bordeaux,"  the  "Romaunt  of  the 
Rose,"  "Blonde  of  Oxford,"  "Flore  et  Blancheflore, 
Amadis  de  Gaul,"  etc.,  there  are  many  charming 
miniatures  to  illustrate  the  word-pictures.  From 
them  we  learn  that  the  garden  was  actually  within 
the  castle  walls  and  very  small.  The  walls  of  the 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  GARDEN         5 

garden  were  broken  by  turrets  and  pierced  with  a 
little  door,  usually  opposite  the  chief  entrance;  the 
walks  were  paved  with  brick  or  stone,  or  they  were 
sanded,  or  graveled ;  and  at  the  intersection  of  these 
walks  a  graceful  fountain  usually  tossed  its  spray 
upon  the  buds  and  blossoms.  The  little  beds  were 
laid  out  formally  and  were  bright  with  flowers, 
growing  singly  and  not  in  masses.  Often,  too,  pots 
or  vases  were  placed  here  and  there  at  regular  in- 
tervals, containing  orange,  lemon,  bay,  or  cypress 
trees,  their  foliage  beautifully  trimmed  in  pyramids 
or  globes  that  rose  high  above  the  tall  stems.  Not 
infrequently  the  garden  rejoiced  in  a  fruit-tree,  or 
several  fruit-trees.  Stone  or  marble  seats  invitingly 
awaited  visitors. 

The  note  here  was  charming  intimacy.  It  was  a 
spot  where  gentleness  and  sweetness  reigned,  and 
where,  perforce,  every  flower  enjoyed  the  air  it 
breathed.  It  was  a  Garden  of  Delight  for  flowers, 
birds,  and  men. 

To  trace  the  formal  garden  to  its  origin  would 
take  us  far  afield.  We  should  have  to  go  back  to  the 
ancient  Egyptians,  whose  symmetrical  and  magnifi- 
cent gardens  were  luxurious  in  the  extreme ;  to  Baby- 
lon, whose  superb  "Hanging  Gardens"  were  among 
the  Seven  Wonders  of  the  World;  and  to  the 


6          THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

Romans,  who  are  still  our  teachers  in  the  matter  of 
beautiful  gardening.  The  Roman  villas  that  made 
Albion  beautiful,  as  the  great  estates  of  the  nobility 
and  gentry  make  her  beautiful  to-day,  lacked  noth- 
ing in  the  way  of  ornamental  gardens.  Doubtless 
Pliny's  garden  was  repeated  again  and  again  in  the 
outposts  of  the  Roman  Empire.  From  these  splen- 
did Roman  gardens  tradition  has  been  handed 
down. 

There  never  has  been  a  time  in  the  history  of 
England  where  the  cultivation  of  the  garden  held 
pause.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the 
Anglo-Saxons  were  devoted  to  flowers.  A  poem  in 
the  "Exeter  Book"  has  the  lines: 

Of  odors   sweetest 
Such  as  in  summer's  tide 
Fragrance  send  forth  in  places, 
Fast    in    their    stations, 
Joyously  o'er  the  plains, 
Blown  plants, 
Honey-flowing. 

No  one  could  write  "blown-plants,  honey-flow- 
ing" without  a  deep  and  sophisticated  love  of 
flowers. 

Every  Anglo-Saxon  gentleman  had  a  garth,  or 
garden,  for  pleasure,  and  an  ort-garth  for  vegetables. 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  GARDEN          7 

In  the  garth  the  best  loved  flower  was  the  lily,  which 
blossomed  beside  the  rose,  sunflower,  marigold,  gilli- 
flower,  violet,  periwinkle,  honeysuckle,  daisy,  peony, 
and  bay-tree. 

Under  the  Norman  kings,  particularly  Henry  II, 
when  the  French  and  English  courts  were  virtually 
the  same,  the  citizens  of  London  had  gardens, 
"large,  beautiful,  and  planted  with  various  kinds  of 
trees."  Possibly  even  older  scribes  wrote  accounts 
of  some  of  these,  but  the  earliest  description  of  an 
English  garden  is  contained  in  "De  Naturis  Rerum" 
by  Alexander  Neckan,  who  lived  in  the  second  half 
of  the  Twelfth  Century.  "A  garden,"  he  says, 
"should  be  adorned  on  this  side  with  roses,  lilies, 
the  marigold,  molis  and  mandrakes;  on  that  side 
with  parsley,  cort,  fennel,  southernwood,  coriander, 
sage,  savory,  hyssop,  mint,  rue,  dittany,  smallage, 
pellitory,  lettuce,  cresses,  ortulano,  and  the  peony. 
Let  there  also  be  beds  enriched  with  onions,  leeks, 
garlic,  melons,  and  scallions.  The  garden  is  also 
enriched  by  the  cucumber,  which  creeps  on  its  belly, 
and  by  the  soporiferous  poppy,  as  well  as  by  the 
daffodil  and  the  acanthus.  Nor  let  pot-herbs  be 
wanting,  if  you  can  help  it,  such  as  beets,  herb 
mercury,  orache,  and  the  mallow.  It  is  useful  also 
to  the  gardener  to  have  anise,  mustard,  white  pepper, 


8          THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

and  wormwood."  And  then  Neckan  goes  on  to  the 
fruit-trees  and  medicinal  plants.  The  gardener's 
tools  at  this  time  were  merely  a  knife  for  grafting, 
an  ax,  a  pruning-hook,  and  a  spade.  A  hundred 
years  later  the  gardens  of  France  and  England  were 
still  about  the  same.  When  John  de  Garlande  (an 
appropriate  name  for  an  amateur  horticulturist)  was 
studying  at  the  University  of  Paris  (Thirteenth  Cen- 
tury) he  had  a  garden,  which  he  described  in  his 
"Dictionarus,"  quaintly  speaking  of  himself  in  the 
third  person:  "In  Master  John's  garden  are  these 
plants:  sage,  parsley,  dittany,  hyssop,  celandine, 
fennel,  pellitory,  the  rose,  the  lily,  the  violet;  and 
at  the  side  (in  the  hedge),  the  nettle,  the  thistle 
and  foxgloves.  His  garden  also  contains  medicinal 
herbs,  namely,  mercury  and  the  mallows,  agrimony 
with  nightshade  and  the  marigold."  Master  John 
had  also  a  special  garden  for  pot-herbs  and  "other 
herbs  good  for  men's  bodies,"  i.e.,  medicinal  herbs, 
and  a  fruit  garden,  or  orchard,  of  cherries,  pears, 
nuts,  apples,  quinces,  figs,  plums,  and  grapes.  About 
the  same  time  Guillaume  de  Lorris  wrote  his 
"Roman  de  la  Rose";  and  in  this  famous  work  of 
the  Thirteenth  Century  there  is  a  most  beautiful  de- 
scription of  the  garden  of  the  period.  UAmant  (the 
Lover)  while  strolling  on  the  banks  of  a  river  dis- 


FIFTEENTH  CENTURY  GARDEN   WITHIN   CASTLE   WALLS,    FRENCH 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  GARDEN          9 

covered  this  enchanting  spot,  "full  long  and  broad 
behind  high  walls."  It  was  the  Garden  of  Delight, 
or  Pleasure,  whose  wife  was  Liesse,  or  Joy;  and 
here  they  dwelt  with  the  sweetest  of  companions. 
L 'Am ant  wandered  about  until  he  found  a  small 
wicket  door  in  the  wall,  at  which  he  knocked  and 
gained  admittance.  When  he  entered  he  was 
charmed.  Everything  was  so  beautiful  that  it 
seemed  to  him  a  spiritual  place,  better  even  than 
Paradise  could  be.  Now,  walking  down  a  little 
path,  bordered  with  mint  and  fennel,  he  reached 
the  spot  where  Delight  and  his  companions  were 
dancing  a  carol  to  the  song  of  Joy.  L'  Am  ant  was 
invited  to  join  the  dance;  and  after  it  was  finished 
he  made  a  tour  of  the  garden  to  see  it  all.  And 
through  his  eyes  we  see  it,  too. 

The  Garden  of  Delight  was  even  and  square,  "as 
long  as  it  was  large."  It  contained  every  known 
fruit-tree — peaches,  plums,  cherries,  apples,  and 
quinces,  as  well  as  figs,  pomegranates,  dates, 
almonds,  chestnuts,  and  nutmegs.  Tall  pines, 
cypresses,  and  laurels  formed  screens  and  walls,  of 
greenery;  and  many  a  "pair"  of  elms,  maples,  ashes, 
oaks,  aspens,  yews,  and  poplars  kept  out  the  sun  by 
their  interwoven  branches  rnd  protected  the  green 
grass.  And  here  deer  browsed  fearlessly  and  squir- 


10        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

rels  "in  great  plenty"  were  seen  leaping  from  bough 
to  bough.  Conduits  of  water  ran  through  the  gar- 
den and  the  moisture  made  the  grass  as  thick  and 
rich  as  velvet  and  "the  earth  was  as  soft  as  a  feather 
bed."  And,  moreover,  the  "earth  was  of  such  a 
grace"  that  it  produced  plenty  of  flowers,  both  win- 
ter and  summer : 

There  sprang  the  violet  all  new 
And  fresh  periwinkle  rich  of  hue 
And  flowers  yellow,  white  and  red, 
Such  plenty  grew  there,  never  in  mead. 
Full  joy  was  all  the  ground  and  quaint 
And  powdered  as  men  had  it  paint 
With  many  a  fresh  and  sundry  flower 
That  casteth  up  full  good  savor. 

Myriads  of  birds  were  singing,  too — larks,  night- 
ingales, finches,  thrushes,  doves,  and  canaries. 
UAmant  wandered  on  until  he  came  to  a  marvelous 
fountain — the  Fountain  of  Love — under  a  pine- 
tree. 

Presently  he  was  attracted  to  a  beautiful  rose- 
bush, full  of  buds  and  full-blown  roses.  One  bud, 
sweeter  and  fresher  than  all  the  rest  and  set  so 
proudly  on  its  spray,  fascinated  him.  As  he  ap- 
proached this  flower,  U Amour  discharged  five  arrows 
into  his  heart.  The  bud,  of  course,  was  the  woman 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  GARDEN        11 

he  was  destined  to  love  and  which,  after  many  ad- 
ventures and  trials,  he  was  eventually  to  pluck  and 
cherish. 

This  fanciful  old  allegory  made  a  strong  appeal 
to  the  illustrators  of  the  Thirteenth  and  later  cen- 
turies; and  many  beautiful  editions  are  prized  by 
libraries  and  preserved  in  glass  cases.  The  edition 
from  which  the  illustration  (Fifteenth  Century)  is 
taken  is  from  the  Harleian  MS.  owned  by  the  British 
Museum. 

II 

The  Garden  of  Delight 

The  old  trouveres  did  not  hesitate  to  stop  the 
flow  of  their  stories  to  describe  the  delights  and 
beauties  of  the  gardens.  Many  romantic  scenes  are 
staged  in  the  "Pleasance,"  to  which  lovers  stole 
quietly  through  the  tiny  postern  gate  in  the  walls. 
When  we  remember  what  the  feudal  castle  was, 
with  its  high,  dark  walls,  its  gloomy  towers  and 
loop-holes  for  windows,  its  cold  floors,  its  secret 
hiding-places,  and  its  general  gloom,  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  the  lords  and  ladies  liked  to  escape  into 
the  garden.  After  the  long,  dreary  winter  what  joy 
to  see  the  trees  burst  into  bloom  and  the  tender 


12        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

flowers  push  their  way  through  the  sweet  grass! 
Like  the  birds,  the  poets  broke  out  into  rapturous 
song,  as,  for  instance,  in  Richard  Cceur  de  Lion: 

Merry  is  in  the  time  of  May, 
Whenne  f owlis  synge  in  her  lay ; 
Flowers  on  appyl  trees  and  perye ; * 
Small  f  owlis  2  synge  merye ; 
Ladyes  strew  their  bowers 
With  red  roses  and  lily  flowers; 
Great  joy  is  in  grove  and  lake. 

In  Chaucer's  "Franklyn's  Tale"  Dorigen  goes 
into  her  garden  to  try  to  divert  herself  in  the  absence 
of  her  husband : 

And  this  was  on  the  sixte  morne  of  May, 
Which  May  had  painted  with  his  softe  shoures. 
This  gardeyn  full  of  leves  and  of  flowers : 
And  craft  of  mannes  hand  so  curiously 
Arrayed  had  this  gardeyn  of  such  pris, 
As  if  it  were  the  verray  paradis. 

In  the  "Roman  de  Berte"  Charles  Mart  el  dines  in 
the  garden,  when  the  rose  is  in  bloom — que  la  rose 
est  fleurie — and  in  "La  Mort  de  Garin"  a  big  dinner- 
party is  given  in  the  garden.  Naturally  the  garden 
was  the  place  of  all  places  for  lovers.  In  "Blonde 
of  Oxford"  Blonde  and  Jean  meet  in  the  garden 
under  a  blossoming  pear-tree,  silvery  in  the  blue 

'Pear. 
1  Birds. 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  GARDEN        13 

moonlight,  and  in  the  "Roman  of  Maugis  et  la  Belle 
Oriande"  the  hero  and  heroine  "met  in  a  garden 
to  make  merry  and  amuse  themselves  after  they  had 
dined ;  and  it  was  the  time  for  taking  a  little  repose. 
It  was  in  the  month  of  May,  the  season  when  the 
birds  sing  and  when  all  true  lovers  are  thinking  of 
their  love." 

In  many  of  the  illuminated  manuscripts  of  these 
delightful  romans  there  are  pictures  of  ladies  gather- 
ing flowers  in  the  garden,  sitting  on  the  sward,  or  on 
stone  seats,  weaving  chaplets  and  garlands;  and 
these  little  pictures  are  drawn  and  painted  with  such 
skill  and  beauty  that  we  have  no  difficulty  in 
visualizing  what  life  was  like  in  a  garden  six  hun- 
dred years  ago. 

So  valued  were  these  gardens — not  only  for  their 
flowers  but  even  more  for  the  potential  drugs,  salves, 
unguents,  perfumes,  and  ointments  they  held  in  leaf 
and  petal,  seed  and  root,  in  those  days  when  every 
castle  had  to  be  its  own  apothecary  storehouse — that 
the  owner  kept  them  locked  and  guarded  the 
key.  Song,  story,  and  legend  are  full  of  incidents 
of  the  heroine's  trouble  in  gaining  possession  of  the 
key  of  the  postern  gate  in  order  to  meet  at  midnight 
her  lover  who  adventurously  scaled  the  high  garden 
wall.  The  garden  was  indeed  the  happiest  and  the 


H        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

most  romantic  spot  in  the  precincts  of  the  feudal 
castle  and  the  baronial  manor-house. 

We  do  not  have  to  depend  entirely  upon  the 
trouveres  and  poets  for  a  knowledge  of  Medieval 
flowers.  A  manuscript  of  the  Fifteenth  Century 
(British  Museum)  contains  a  list  of  plants  consid- 
ered necessary  for  a  garden.  Here  it  is:  violets, 
mallows,  dandelions,  mint,  sage,  parsley,  golds,1 
marjoram,  fennel,  caraway,  red  nettle,  daisy, 
thyme,  columbine,  basil,  rosemary,  gyllofre,2  rue, 
chives,  endive,  red  rose,  poppy,  cowslips  of  Jerusa- 
lem, saffron,  lilies,  and  Roman  peony. 

Herbs  and  flowers  were  classed  together.  Many 
were  valued  for  culinary  purposes  and  for  medicinal 
purposes.  The  ladies  of  the  castle  and  manor-house 
were  learned  in  cookery  and  in  the  preparation  of 
"simples" ;  and  they  guarded,  tended,  and  gathered 
the  herbs  with  perhaps  even  more  care  than  they 
gave  to  the  flowers.  Medieval  pictures  of  ladies,  in 
tall  peaked  head  dresses,  fluttering  veils,  and  grace- 
ful, flowing  robes,  gathering  herbs  in  their  gardens, 
are  abundant  in  the  old  illustrated  manuscripts. 

1  Marigolds. 
3  Gilliflower. 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  GARDEN        15 

III 

The  Italian  Renaissance  Garden 

It  is  but  a  step  from  this  Medieval  "Pleasance" 
to  the  Shakespeare  garden.  But  before  we  try  to 
picture  what  the  Tudor  gardens  were  like  it  will 
be  worth  our  while  to  pause  for  a  moment  to  con- 
sider the  Renaissance  garden  of  Italy  on  which  the 
gardens  that  Shakespeare  knew  and  loved  were 
modeled.  No  one  is  better  qualified  to  speak  of 
these  than  Vernon  Lee: 

"One  great  charm  of  Renaissance  gardens  was 
the  skillful  manner  in  which  Nature  and  Art  were 
blended  together.  The  formal  design  of  the 
Giardino  segreto  agreed  with  the  straight  lines  of 
the  house,  and  the  walls  with  their  clipped  hedges 
led  on  to  the  wilder  freer  growth  of  woodland  and 
meadow,  while  the  dense  shade  of  the  bosco  supplied 
an  effective  contrast  to  the  sunny  spaces  of  lawn  and 
flower-bed.  The  ancient  practice  of  cutting  box- 
trees  into  fantastic  shapes,  known  to  the  Romans 
as  the  topiary  art,  was  largely  restored  in  the 
Fifteenth  Century  and  became  an  essential  part  of 
Italian  gardens.  In  that  strange  romance  printed 
at  the  Aldine  Press  in  1499,  the  Hypernotomachia 


16        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

of  Francesco  Colonna,  Polyphilus  and  his  beloved 
are  led  through  an  enchanted  garden  where  banquet- 
houses,  temples  and  statues  stand  in  the  midst  of 
myrtle  groves  and  labyrinths  on  the  banks  of  a 
shining  stream.  The  pages  of  this  curious  book  are 
adorned  with  a  profusion  of  wood-cuts  by  some 
Venetian  engraver,  representing  pergolas,  fountains, 
sunk  parterres,  pillared  loggie,  clipped  box  and  ilex- 
trees  of  every  variety,  which  give  a  good  idea  of 
the  garden  artist  then  in  vogue. 

"Boccaccio  and  the  Italians  more  usually  employ 
the  word  orto,  which  has  lost  its  Latin  signification, 
and  is  a  place,  as  we  learn  from  the  context,  planted 
with  fruit-trees  and  potherbs,  the  sage  which 
brought  misfortune  on  poor  Simona  and  the  sweet 
basil  which  Lisabetta  watered,  as  it  grew  out  of 
Lorenzo's  head,  only  with  rosewater,  or  that  of 
orange-flowers,  or  with  her  own  tears.  A  friend  of 
mine  has  painted  a  picture  of  another  of  Boccaccio's 
ladies,  Madonna  Dianora,  visiting  the  garden  which 
the  enamored  Ansaldo  has  made  to  bloom  in  Jan- 
uary by  magic  arts;  a  little  picture  full  of  the  quaint 
lovely  details  of  Dello's  wedding-chests,  the  charm 
of  roses  and  lilies,  the  flashing  fountains  and  birds 
singing  against  a  background  of  wintry  trees,  and 
snow-shrouded  fields,  dainty  youths  and  damsels 


LOVERS  IN  THE  CASTLE  GARDEN,  FIFTEENTH  CENTURY  MS. 


GARDEN  OF  DELIGHT,  ROMAUNT  OF  THE  ROSE,  FIFTEENTH   CENTURY 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  GARDEN        17 

treading  their  way  among  the  flowers,  looking  like 
tulips  and  ranunculus  themselves  in  their  fur  and 
brocade.  But  although  in  this  story  Boccaccio  em- 
ploys the  word  giardino  instead  of  orto,  I  think  we 
must  imagine  that  magic  flower  garden  rather  as  a 
corner  of  orchard  connected  with  fields  of  wheat  and 
olive  below  by  the  long  tunnels  of  vine-trellis  and 
dying  away  into  them  with  the  great  tufts  of  laven- 
der and  rosemary  and  fennel  on  the  grassy  bank 
under  the  cherry  trees.  This  piece  of  terraced 
ground  along  which  the  water  spurted  from  the 
dolphin's  mouth,  or  the  Siren's  breasts — runs 
through  walled  channels,  refreshing  impartially  vio1 
lets  and  salads,  lilies  and  tall,  flowering  onions 
under  the  branches  of  the  peach-tree  and  the  pome- 
granate, to  where,  in  the  shade  of  the  great  pink 
oleander  tufts,  it  pours  out  below  into  the  big  tank 
for  the  maids  to  rinse  their  linen  in  the  evening  and 
the  peasants  to  fill  their  cans  to  water  the  bedded 
out  tomatoes  and  the  potted  clove-pinks  in  the 
shadow  of  the  house. 

"The  Blessed  Virgin's  garden  is  like  that  where, 
as  she  prays  in  the  cool  of  the  evening,  the  gracious 
Gabriel  flutters  on  to  one  knee  (hushing  the  sound 
of  his  wings  lest  he  startle  her)  through  the  pale 
green  sky,  the  deep  blue-green  valley;  and  you  may 


i8        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

still  see  in  the  Tuscan  fields  clumps  of  cypress, 
clipped  wheel  shape,  which  might  mark  the  very 
spot." 

I  may  recall  here  that  the  early  Italian  and 
Flemish  painters  were  fond  of  representing  the 
Madonna  and  the  Infant  Jesus  in  a  garden ;  and  the 
garden  that  they  pictured  was  always  the  familiar 
little  enclosed  garden  of  the  period.  The  flowers 
that  grew  there  were  limited  by  the  Church.  Each 
flower  had  its  significance :  the  rose  and  the  pink  both 
expressed  divine  love;  the  lily,  purity;  the  violet, 
humility;  the  strawberry,  fruit  and  blossom,  for  the 
fruit  of  the  spirit  and  the  good  works  of  the  right- 
eous; the  clover,  or  trefoil,  for  the  Trinity;  and  the 
columbine  for  the  Seven  Gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
because  of  its  dove-shaped  petals. 

The  enclosed  garden  is  ancient  indeed. 

O  garden  enclosed — a  garden  of  living  waters 

And  flowing  streams  from  Lebanon: 

Awake  O  North  Wind ;  and  come  thou  South ; 

Blow  upon  my  garden  that  the  spices  may  thereof  flow  out! 

So  sang  the  esthetic  Solomon. 

A  garden  enclosed,  a  garden  of  living  waters,  a 
garden  of  perfumes — these  are  the  motives  of  the 
Indian  gardens  of  the  luxurious  Mogul  emperors, 
whose  reigns  coincide  with  Tudor  times. 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  GARDEN        19 

Symbolism  played  an  important  part  in  Indian 
gardens.  The  beautiful  garden  of  Babar  (near 
Kabul)  was  called  the  Bagh-i-vafa — "The  Garden 
of  Fidelity."  This  has  many  points  in  common  with 
the  illustration  of  the  "Romaunt  of  the  Rose,"  par- 
ticularly the  high  walls. 

There  is  also  great  similarity  with  the  gardens  of 
Elizabethan  days.  The  "pleached  allies"  and 
"knots"  of  the  English  gardens  of  Shakespeare's 
time  find  equivalents  in  the  vine  pergolas  and  geo- 
metrical parterres  of  the  Mogul  emperors;  and  the 
central  platform  of  the  Mogul  gardens  answered  the 
same  purpose  as  the  banqueting-hall  on  the  mound, 
which  decorated  nearly  every  English  nobleman's 
garden. 

IV 

Bagh-i-vafa 

Babar's  "Garden  of  Fidelity"  was  made  in  the 
year  1508.  We  see  Babar  personally  superin- 
tending the  laying  out  of  the  "four-field  plot." 
Two  gardeners  hold  the  measuring  line  and  the 
architect  stands  by  with  his  plan.  The  square 
enclosure  at  the  bottom  of  the  garden  (right)  is  the 
tank.  The  whole  is  bordered  with  orange  and  pome- 
granate trees.  An  embassy  knocks  at  the  gate,  but 


20        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

Babar  is  too  absorbed  in  his  gardening  to  pay  any 
attention  to  the  guests. 

Fifteen  years  later  Babar  stole  three  days  away 
from  his  campaign  against  the  Afghans  and  visited 
his  beautiful  garden.  "Next  morning,"  he  wrote  in 
his  "Memoirs,"  "I  reached  Bagh-i-vafa.  It  was  the 
season  when  the  garden  was  in  all  its  glory.  Its 
grass-plots  were  all  covered  with  clover;  its  pome- 
granate trees  were  entirely  of  a  beautiful  yellow 
color.  It  was  then  the  pomegranate  season  and 
pomegranates  were  hanging  red  on  the  trees.  The 
orange-trees  were  green  and  cheerful,  loaded  with 
innumerable  oranges ;  but  the  best  oranges  were  not 
yet  ripe.  I  never  was  so  much  pleased  with  the 
'Garden  of  Fidelity'  as  on  this  occasion." 

Several  new  ideas  were  introduced  into  English 
gardens  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  Sixteenth  Century. 
About  1525  the  geometrical  beds  called  "knots" 
came  into  fashion,  also  rails  for  beds,  also  mounds, 
or  "mounts,"  and  also  arbors.  Cardinal  Wolsey  had 
all  these  novelties  in  his  garden  at  Hampton  Court 
Palace.  It  was  a  marvelous  garden,  as  any  one  who 
will  read  Cavendish  may  see  for  himself;  but  Henry 
VIII  was  not  satisfied  with  it  when  he  seized  the 
haughty  Cardinal's  home  in  1529.  So  four  years 
later  the  King  had  an  entirely  new  garden  made  at 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  GARDEN       21 

Hampton  Court  (the  Privy  Garden  is  on  the  site 
now)  with  gravel  paths,  beds  cut  in  the  grass,  and 
railed  and  raised  mounds  decorated  with  sun-dials. 
Over  the  rails  roses  clambered  and  bloomed  and  the 
center  of  each  bed  was  adorned  with  a  yew,  juniper, 
or  cypress-tree.  Along  the  walls  fruit-trees  were 
planted — apples,  pears,  and  damsons — and  beneath 
them  blossomed  violets,  primroses,  sweet  williams, 
gilliflowers,  and  other  old  favorites. 

Toward  the  end  of  his  reign  Henry  VIII  turned 
his  attention  to  beautifying  the  grounds  of  Nonsuch 
Palace  near  Ewell  in  Surrey.  These  gardens  were 
worthy  of  the  magnificent  buildings.  A  contem- 
porary wrote:  "The  Palace  itself  is  so  encompassed 
with  parks  full  of  deer,  delicious  gardens,  groves 
ornamented  with  trellis-work,  cabinets  of  verdure 
and  walks  so  embowered  with  trees  that  it  seems  to 
be  a  place  pitched  upon  by  Pleasure  herself  to  dwell 
in  along  with  health." 

V 

New  Fad  for  Flowers 

An  example  of  a  typical  Tudor  estate,  Beaufort 
House,  Chelsea,  later  Buckingham  House,  is  said  to 
have  been  built  by  Sir  Thomas  More  in  1521  and  re- 


22        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

built  in  1586  by  Sir  Robert  Cecil,  Earl  of  Salisbury, 
who  died  in  1615.  The  flowers  at  this  period  were 
the  same  for  palace  and  cottage.  Tudor  gardens 
bloomed  with  acanthus,  asphodel,  auricula,  ane- 
mone, amaranth,  bachelor's  buttons,  cornflowers  or 
"bottles,"  cowslips,  daffodils,  daisies,  French  broom 
(genista),  gilliflowers  (three  varieties),  hollyhock, 
iris,  jasmine,  lavender,  lilies,  lily-of-the-valley, 
marigold,  narcissus  (yellow  and  white),  pansies  or 
heartsease,  peony,  periwinkle,  poppy,  primrose, 
rocket,  roses,  rosemary,  snapdragon,  stock  gilli- 
flowers, sweet  william,  wallflowers,  winter  cherry, 
violet,  mint,  marjoram,  and  other  sweet-smelling 
herbs. 

During  "the  great  and  spacious  time"  of  Queen 
Elizabeth  there  was  an  enormous  development  in 
gardens.  The  Queen  was  extremely  fond  of  flowers 
and  she  loved  to  wear  them.  It  must  have  pleased 
her  hugely  when  Spenser  celebrated  her  as  "Eliza, 
Queen  of  the  Shepherds,"  and  painted  her  portrait 
in  one  of  the  pretty  enclosed  gardens,  seated  among 
the  fruit-trees,  where  the  grass  was  sprinkled  with 
flowers : 

See  where  she  sits  upon  the  grassy  green, 

O  seemly  sight! 
Yclad  in  scarlet,  like  a  Maiden  Queen, 

And  ermines  white; 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  GARDEN       23 

Upon  her  head  a  crimson  coronet, 
With  daffodils  and  damask  roses  set; 

Bay  leaves  between, 

And  primeroses  green, 
Embellish  the  sweet  violet. 


So  fond  was  the  Queen  of  gardens  that  Sir  Philip 
Sidney  could  think  of  no  better  way  to  please  her 
than  to  arrange  his  masque  of  the  "May  Lady"  so 
that  it  would  surprise  her  when  she  was  walking  in 
the  garden  at  Wanstead  in  Essex.  Then,  too,  in 
1591,  when  visiting  Cowdry,  Elizabeth  expressed  a 
desire  to  dine  in  the  garden.  A  table  forty-eight 
yards  long  was  accordingly  laid. 

The  Tudor  mansions  were  constantly  growing  in 
beauty.  Changes  and  additions  were  made  to  some 
of  them  and  many  new  palaces  and  manor-houses 
were  erected.  Architects — among  them  John 
Thorpe — and  landscape  gardeners  now  planned  the 
pleasure-grounds  to  enhance  the  beauty  of  the  man- 
sion they  had  created,  adapting  the  ideas  of  the 
Italian  Renaissance  to  the  English  taste.  The 
Elizabethan  garden  in  their  hands  became  a  setting 
for  the  house  and  it  was  laid  out  according  to  a 
plan  that  harmonized  with  the  architecture  and  con- 
tinued the  lines  of  the  building.  The  form  of  the 
garden  and  the  lay-out  of  the  beds  and  walks  were 


24        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

deemed  of  the  greatest  importance.  Flowers,  also, 
took  a  new  place  in  general  estimation.  Adven- 
turous mariners  constantly  brought  home  new  plants 
and  bulbs  and  seeds  from  the  East  and  lately  dis- 
covered America;  merchants  imported  strange  speci- 
mens from  Turkey  and  Poland  and  far  Cathay ;  and 
travelers  on  the  Continent  opened  their  eyes  and 
secured  unfamiliar  curiosities  and  novelties.  The 
cultivation  of  flowers  became  a  regular  fad.  Lon- 
don merchants  and  wealthy  noblemen  considered  it 
the  proper  thing  to  have  a  few  "outlandish"  flowers 
in  their  gardens;  and  they  vied  with  one  another  to 
develop  "sports"  and  new  varieties  and  startling 
colors. 

Listen  to  what  an  amateur  gardener,  William 
Harrison,  wrote  in  1593: 

"If  you  look  into  our  gardens  annexed  to  our 
houses  how  wonderfully  is  their  beauty  increased, 
not  only  with  flowers  and  variety  of  curious  and 
costly  workmanship,  but  also  with  rare  and  medicin- 
able  herbs  sought  up  in  the  land  within  these  forty 
years.  How  Art  also  helpeth  Nature  in  the  daily 
coloring,  doubling  and  enlarging  the  proportion  of 
one's  flowers  it  is  incredible  to  report,  for  so  curious 
and  cunning  are  our  gardeners  now  in  these  days 
that  they  presume  to  do  in  manner  what  they  list 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  GARDEN       25 

with  Nature  and  moderate  her  course  in  things  as 
if  they  were  her  superiors.  It  is  a  world  also  to  see 
how  many  strange  herbs,  plants  and  annual  fruits 
are  daily  brought  unto  us  from  the  Indies,  Americas, 
Taprobane,  Canary  Isles  and  all  parts  of  the  world. 
"For  mine  own  part,  good  reader,  let  me  boast  a 
little  of  my  garden,  which  is  but  small,  and  the 
whole  area  thereof  little  above  300  foot  of  ground, 
and  yet,  such  hath  been  my  good  luck  in  purchase 
of  the  variety  of  simples,  that,  notwithstanding  my 
small  ability,  there  are  very  near  300  of  one  sort 
and  another  contained  therein,  no  one  of  them  being 
common  or  usually  to  be  had.  If,  therefore,  my 
little  plat  void  of  all  cost  of  keeping  be  so  well  fur- 
nished, what  shall  we  think  of  those  of  Hampton 
Court,  Nonesuch,  Theobald's,  Cobham  Garden  and 
sundrie  others  appertaining  to  divers  citizens  of  Lon- 
don whom  I  could  particularly  name?" 

VI 

Tudor  Gardens 

Several  men  of  the  New  Learning,  who,  like 
Shakespeare,  lived  into  the  reign  of  James  I,  ad- 
vanced many  steps  beyond  the  botanists  of  the  early 
days  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  The  old  Herbals — the 


26        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

"Great  Herbal,"  from  the  French  (1516)  and  the 
"Herbals"  published  by  William  Turner,  Dean  of 
Wells,  who  had  a  garden  of  his  own  at  Kew,  treat 
of  flowers  chiefly  with  regard  to  their  properties  and 
medical  uses. 

The  Renaissance  did  indeed  "paint  the  lily"  and 
"throw  a  perfume  on  the  violet"  ;»for  the  New  Age 
brought  recognition  of  their  esthetic  qualities  and 
taught  scholastic  minds  that  flowers  had  beauty  and 
perfume  and  character  as  well  as  utilitarian  quali- 
ties. Elizabeth  as  Queen  had  very  different  gardens 
to  walk  in  than  the  little  one  in  the  Tower  of  Lon- 
don in  which  she  took  exercise  as  a  young  Princess 
in  1564. 

Let  us  look  at  some  of  them.  First,  that  of  Rich- 
mond Palace.  Here  the  garden  was  surrounded  by 
a  brick  wall  and  in  the  center  was  "a  round  knot 
divided  into  four  quarters,"  with  a  yew-tree  in  the 
center.  Sixty-two  fruit-trees  were  trained  on  the 
wall. 

This  seems  to  have  been  of  the  old  type — the 
orchard-garden,  where  a  few  old  favorite  flowers 
bloomed  under  the  trees  and  in  the  central  "knot," 
or  bed.  In  the  Queen's  locked  garden  at  Havering- 
atte-Bower  trees,  grass,  and  sweet  herbs  seem  to  have 
been  more  conspicuous  than  the  flowers.  The 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  GARDEN        27 

Queen's  gardens  seem  to  have  been  overshadowed  by 
those  of  her  subjects.  One  of  the  most  celebrated 
belonged  to  Lord  Burleigh,  and  was  known  as  Theo- 
bald's. Paul  Hentzner,  a  German  traveler  who 
visited  England  in  1598,  went  to  see  this  garden 
the  very  day  that  Burleigh  was  buried. 

He  described  it  as  follows : 

"We  left  London  in  a  coach  in  order  to  see  the 
remarkable  places  in  its  neighborhood.  The  first 
was  Theobald's,  belonging  to  Lord  Burleigh,  the 
Treasurer.  In  the  Gallery  was  painted  the 
genealogy  of  the  Kings  of  England.  From  this 
place  one  goes  into  the  garden,  encompassed  with  a 
moat  full  of  water,  large  enough  for  one  to  have  the 
pleasure  of  going  in  a  boat  and  rowing  between  the 
shrubs.  Here  are  great  variety  of  trees  and  plants, 
labyrinths  made  with  a  great  deal  of  labor,  a  jet 
(Teau  with  its  basin  of  white  marble  and  columns 
and  pyramids  of  wood  and  other  materials  up  and 
down  the  garden.  After  seeing  these,  we  were  led 
by  the  gardener  into  the  summer-house,  in  the  lower 
part  of  which,  built  semicircularly,  are  the  twelve 
Roman  Emperors  in  white  marble  and  a  table  of 
touchstone.  The  upper  part  of  it  is  set  round  with 
cisterns  of  lead  into  which  the  water  is  conveyed 
through  pipes  so  that  fish  may  be  kept  in  them  and 


28        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

in  summer  time  they  are  very  convenient  for  bath- 
ing. In  another  room  for  entertainment  near  this, 
and  joined  to  it  by  a  little  bridge,  was  an  oval  table 
of  red  marble." 

Another  and  accurate  picture  of  a  stately  Eliza- 
bethan garden  is  by  a  most  competent  authority,  Sir 
Philip  Sidney  (1554-86),  who  had  a  superb  garden 
of  his  own  in  Kent.  In  "Arcadia"  we  read: 

"Kalander  one  afternoon  led  him  abroad  to  a 
well-arrayed  ground  he  had  behind  his  house  which 
he  thought  to  show  him  before  his  going,  as  the  place 
himself  more  than  in  any  other,  delighted  in.  The 
backside  of  the  house  was  neither  field,  garden,  nor 
orchard;  or,  rather,  it  was  both  field,  garden  and 
orchard :  for  as  soon  as  the  descending  of  the  stairs 
had  delivered  they  came  into  a  place  curiously  set 
with  trees  of  the  most  taste-pleasing  fruits;  but 
scarcely  had  they  taken  that  into  their  consideration 
but  that  they  were  suddenly  stept  into  a  delicate 
green;  on  each  side  of  the  green  a  thicket,  and  be- 
hind the  thickets  again  new  beds  of  flowers  which 
being  under  the  trees,  the  trees  were  to  them  a 
pavilion,  and  they  to  the  trees  a  mosaical  floor,  so 
that  it  seemed  that  Art  therein  would  needs  be  de- 
lightful by  counterfeiting  his  enemy,  Error,  and 
making  order  in  confusion.  In  the  midst  of  all  the 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  GARDEN        29 

place  was  a  fair  pond,  whose  shaking  crystal  was  a 
perfect  mirror  to  all  the  other  beauties,  so  that  it 
bare  show  of  two  gardens ;  one  in  deed  and  the  other 
in  shadows;  and  in  one  of  the  thickets  was  a  fine 
fountain." 

VII 

Garden  Pleasures 

There  were  many  such  splendid  gardens.  Shake- 
speare was  familiar,  of  course,  with  those  of  War- 
wickshire, including  the  superb  examples  at  Kenil- 
worth,  and  with  those  in  the  vicinity  of  London. 

The  Elizabethans  used  their  gardens  in  many 
ways.  They  took  recreation  in  them  in  winter  and 
summer,  and  enjoyed  the  perfume  and  colors  of 
their  flowers  with  an  intensity  of  delight  and  ap- 
preciation Trarely  found  to-day.  In  their  gardens 
the  serious  and  the  frivolous  walked  and  talked,  and 
here  they  were  frequently  served  with  refreshments. 

It  was  also  a  fashion  to  use  the  garden  as  a  set- 
ting for  masques  and  surprises,  such  as  those  Leices- 
ter planned  on  a  grand  scale  to  please  Queen  Eliza- 
beth at  Kenilworth.  Several  of  Ben  Jonson's  enter- 
tainments were  arranged  for  performance  on  the 
terrace  opening  from  house  to  garden. 

By    looking    into    that    mirror    of    the    period, 


30        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

"Euphues  and  His  England,"  by  John  Lyly  (1554- 
1606),  we  can  see  two  charming  ladies  in  ruffs  and 
farthingales  and  a  gallant  in  rich  doublet  and 
plumed  hat  walking  in  a  garden,  and  we  gain  an 
idea  of  the  kind  of  "garden  talk"  that  was  comme 
il  faut: 

"One  of  the  ladies,  who  delighted  much  in  mirth, 
seeing  Philautus  behold  Camilla  so  steadfastly,  said 
unto  him :  'Gentleman,  what  flower  do  you  like  best 
in  all  this  border?  Here  be  fair  Roses,  sweet  Vio- 
lets, fragrant  Primroses ;  here  be  Gilliflowers,  Carna- 
tions, Sops-in-Wine,  Sweet  Johns,  and  what  may 
either  please  you  for  sight,  or  delight  you  with 
savor.  Loth  we  are  you  should  have  a  posie  of  all, 
yet  willing  to  give  you  one,  not  that  which  shall 
look  best  but  such  a  one  as  you  shall  like  best.'  ' 

What  could  Philautus  do  but  bow  gallantly  and 
say:  "Of  all  flowers,  I  love  a  fair  woman." 


THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN3 


Flower  Lovers  and  Herbalists 

THE  Elizabethan  flower  garden  as  an  inde- 
pendent garden  came  into  existence  about 
1595.  It  was  largely  the  creation  of  John 
Parkinson  (1567-1650),  who  seems  to  have  been  the 
first  person  to  insist  that  flowers  were  worthy  of 
cultivation  for  their  beauty  quite  apart  from  their 
value  as  medicinal  herbs.  Parkinson  was  also  the 
first  to  make  of  equal  importance  the  four  enclosures 
of  the  period:  (i)  the  garden  of  pleasant  flowers; 
(2)  the  kitchen  garden  (herbs  and  roots) ;  (3)  the 
simples  (medicinal)  ;  and  (4)  the  orchard. 

One  would  hardly  expect  to  find  such  esthetic 
appreciation  of  flowers  from  Parkinson,  because  he 
was  an  apothecary,  with  a  professional  attitude 
toward  plants;  and  our  ideas  of  an  Elizabethan 
apothecary  picture  a  dusty  seller  of  narcotics  and 
"drams  of  poison,"  like  the  old  man  to  whom  Romeo 
and  Juliet  repaired. 

31 


32        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

John  Parkinson  was  of  a  different  type.  Our 
portrait  illustration  depicts  him,  wearing  a  stylish 
Genoa  velvet  doublet  with  lace  ruff  and  cuffs,  a 
man  who  could  apparently  hold  his  own  in  any  com- 
pany of  courtiers  and  men  of  fashion.  Parkinson 
knew  a  great  many  distinguished  persons  and  enter- 
tained visitors  at  his  nurseries,  where  he  must  have 
held  them  spellbound  (if  he  talked  as  well  as  he 
wrote)  while  he  explained  the  beauties  of  a  new 
yellow  gilliflower,  the  latest  new  scarlet  martagon 
lily,  or  the  flower  that  he  so  proudly  holds  in  his 
hand — "the  orange-color  Nonesuch." 

Parkinson's  talents  were  recognized  at  court,  for 
he  was  appointed  "Apothecary  to  James  I."  He  had 
a  garden  of  his  own  at  Long  Acre,  which  he  culti- 
vated with  enthusiasm,  raising  new  varieties  of  well- 
known  flowers  and  tending  with  care  new  specimens 
of  foreign  importations  and  exotics — "outlandish 
flowers"  they  were  called  in  Shakespeare's  day — 
and,  finally,  writing  about  his  floral  pets  with  great 
knowledge,  keen  observation,  poetic  insight,  and 
quaint  charm.  His  great  book,  "Paradisi  in  Sole; 
Paradisus  Terrestris,"  appeared  in  London  in  1629, 
the  most  original  book  of  botany  of  the  period  and 
the  most  complete  English  treatise  until  Ray  came. 

Although  published  thirteen  years  after  Shake- 


JOHN    GERARD 


PARKINSON    AND    LOBEL 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"      33 

speare's  death,  Parkinson's  book  describes  exactly  the 
style  of  gardens  and  the  variety  of  flowers  that  were 
familiar  to  Shakespeare;  and  to  this  book  we  may 
go  with  confidence  to  learn  more  intimately  the 
aspect  of  what  we  may  call  the  Shakespeare  garden., 
In  it  we  learn  to  our  surprise  that  horticulture  in  the 
late  Tudor  and  early  Stuart  days  was  not  in  the 
simple  state  that  it  is  generally  supposed  to  have 
been  in.  There  were  flower  fanciers  in  and  near 
London — and  indeed  throughout  England — and 
there  were  expert  gardeners  and  florists. 

Parkinson  was  very  friendly  with  the  other  Lon- 
don flower  growers  of  whom  he  speaks  cordially  in 
his  book  and  with  never  the  least  shadow  of  jealousy. 
He  frequently  mentions  visiting  the  gardens  of 
Gerard,  Nicholas  Leate,  and  Ralph  Tuggy  (or 
Tuggie). 

Everybody  has  heard  of  Gerard's  "Herbal  or 
General  Historic  of  Plants,"  published  in  1597,  for 
it  is  one  of  the  most  famous  ancient  books  on  flowers. 
A  contemporary  botanist  said  that  "Gerard  exceeded 
most,  if  not  all  of  his  time,  in  his  care,  industry  and 
skill  in  raising,  increasing,  and  preserving  plants." 
For  twenty  years  Gerard  was  superintendent  of 
Lord  Burleigh's  famous  gardens — one  of  which  was 
in  the  Strand,  London,  and  the  other  at  Theobald's 


34        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

in  Hertfordshire.  Gerard  also  had  a  garden  of  his 
own  at  Holborn  (then  a  suburb  of  London),  where 
he  raised  many  rare  specimens  and  tried  many  ex- 
periments. He  employed  a  collector,  William  Mar- 
shall, to  travel  in  the  Levant  for  new  plants.  Gerard 
(1545-1607)  was  a  physician,  as  well  as  a  practical 
gardener;  but,  although  he  possessed  great  knowl- 
edge, he  does  not  appear  to  have  had  the  esthetic 
appreciation  of  flowers  that  Parkinson  had  in  such 
great  measure.  His  name  is  also  written  Gerade. 
Gerard's  "Herbal"  was  not  the  first.  Horticul- 
turists could  consult  the  "Grete  Herbal,"  first 
printed  by  Peter  Treveris  in  1516;  Fitzherbert, 
"Husbandry"  (1523);  Walter  Cary,  "Herbal" 
( 1525)  ;  a  translation  of  Macer's  "Herbal"  (1530)  ; 
the  "Herbal"  by  Dodoens,  published  in  Antwerp 
in  1544;  William  Turner's  "The  Names  of  Herbs 
in  Greke,  Latin,  Englishe,  Duche  and  Frenche,"  etc. 
(1548),  reprinted  by  the  English  Dialect  Society 
(1881);  Thomas  Tusser's  "Five  Pointes  of  Good 
Husbandry,"  etc.  (1573),  reprinted  by  the  English 
Dialect  Society  (1878);  Didymus  Mountain's 
(Thomas  Hill)  "A  Most  Brief  and  Pleasant  Trea- 
tise Teaching  How  to  Sow  and  Set  a  Garden" 
(1563),  "The  Proffitable  Art  of  Gardening" 
(1568),  and  "The  Gardener's  Labyrinth"  (1577); 


'THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"       35 

Rarnaby  Googe's  "Four  Rooks  of  Husbandry,"  col- 
lected by  M.  Conradus  Heresbachius,  "Newly  Eng- 
lished and  increased  by  Rarnaby  Googe"  (1577); 
William  Lawson's  "A  New  Orchard  and  Garden" 
(1618);  Francis  Racon's  "Essay  on  Gardening" 
(1625);  and  John  Parkinson's  "Paradisi  in  Sole, 
Paradisus  Terrestris"  (1629). 

Ralph  Tuggie,  or  Tuggy,  so  often  spoken  of  by 
Parkinson,  had  a  fine  show  garden  at  Westminster, 
where  he  specialized  in  carnations  and  gilliflowers. 
After  his  death  his  widow,  "Mistress  Tuggie,"  kept 
it  up. 

Another  flower  enthusiast  was  the  Earl  of  Salis- 
bury, who  placed  his  splendid  garden  at  Hatfield 
under  the  care  of  John  Tradescant,  the  first  of  a 
noted  family  of  horticulturists.  John  Tradescant 
also  had  a  garden  of  his  own  in  South  Lambeth,  "the 
finest  in  England"  every  one  called  it.  Here 
Tradescant  introduced  the  acacia;  the  lilac,  called 
in  those  days  the  "Rlue  Pipe  Flower";  and,  if  we 
may  believe  Parkinson,  the  pomegranate.  Among 
other  novelties  that  attracted  visitors  to  this  show 
garden  he  had  the  "Sable  Flag,"  known  also  as  the 
"Marvel  of  Peru." 

Lord  Zouche  was  another  horticulturist  of  note. 
His  fine  garden  at  Hackney  contained  plants  that 


36        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

he  himself  collected  on  his  travels  in  Austria,  Italy, 
and  Spain.  Lord  Zouche  gave  his  garden  into  the 
keeping  of  the  distinguished  Mathias  de  Lobel,  a 
famous  physician  and  botanist  of  Antwerp  and 
Delft.  Lobel  was  made  botanist  to  James  I  and 
had  a  great  influence  upon  flower  culture  in  England. 
For  him  the  Lobelia  was  named — an  early  instance 
of  naming  plants  for  a  person  and  breaking  away 
from  the  quaint  descriptive  names  for  flowers. 

Elizabethan  gardens  owed  much  to  Nicholas 
Leate,  or  Lete,  a  London  merchant  who  about  1590 
became  a  member  of  the  Levant  Company.  As  a 
leading  merchant  in  the  trade  with  Turkey  and 
discharging  in  connection  with  commercial  enter- 
prise the  duties  of  a  semi-political  character,  Leate 
became  wealthy  and  was  thus  able  to  indulge  his 
taste  for  flowers  and  anything  else  he  pleased.  He 
had  a  superb  garden  and  employed  collectors  to  hunt 
for  specimens  in  Turkey  and  Syria.  His  "servant  at 
Aleppo"  sent  many  new  flowers  to  London,  such  as 
tulips,  certain  kinds  of  lilies, — the  martagon,  or 
Turk's  Cap,  for  instance, — irises,  the  Crown-Im- 
perial, and  many  new  anemones,  or  windflowers. 
The  latter  became  the  rage,  foreshadowing  the  tulip- 
mania  of  later  years.  Nicholas  Leate  also  imported 
the  yellow  Sops-in-Wine,  a  famous  carnation  from 


NICHOLAS    LEATE 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"      37 

Poland,  which  had  never  been  heard  of  before  in 
England,  and  the  beautiful  double  yellow  rose  from 
Constantinople.  Leate  was  a  member  of  the  Wor- 
shipful Company  of  Ironmongers,  London,  and 
Master  of  it  in  1616,  1626,  and  1627,  and  his  por- 
trait, given  here,  said  to  be  by  Daniel  Mytens, 
hung  in  Ironmongers'  Hall  in  London  until  this 
famous  building  was  destroyed  by  a  German  bomb 
in  1917.  Leate  died  in  1630. 

Leate,  being  a  most  enthusiastic  flower  fancier  and 
garden  lover,  not  only  imported  rare  specimens  but 
tried  many  experiments.  Indeed  we  are  surprised 
in  going  through  old  garden  manuals  of  Shake- 
spearean days  to  see  how  many  and  how  varied  were 
the  attempts  to  produce  "sports"  and  novelties.  We 
read  of  grafting  a  rosebush  and  placing  musk  in  the 
cleft  in  an  effort  to  produce  musk- roses;  recipes  for 
changing  the  color  of  flowers;  methods  for  produc- 
ing double  flowers ;  and  instructions  for  grafting  and 
pruning  plants,  sowing  seeds,  and  plucking  flowers 
during  the  increase,  or  waning,  of  the  moon. 

These  professional  florists  and  gentlemen 
amateurs  valued  their  rare  specimens  from  foreign 
countries  as  they  valued  their  emeralds  from  Peru, 
Oriental  pearls  from  Ceylon  and  rubies  from  India. 
Parkinson  says  very  earnestly : 


38        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

"Our  English  gardeners  are  all,  or  most  of  them, 
ignorant  in  the  ordering  of  their  outlandish  1  flowers, 
as  not  being  trained  to  know  them.  And  I  do  wish 
all  gentlemen  and  gentlewomen  whom  it  may  con- 
cern for  their  own  good,  to  be  as  careful  whom  they 
trust  with  the  planting  and  replanting  of  their  fine 
flowers  as  they  would  be  with  so  many  jewels;  for 
the  roots  of  many  of  them,  being  small  and  of  great 
value,  may  soon  be  conveyed  away  and  a  clean,  fair 
tale  told  that  such  a  root  is  rotten,  or  perished  in  the 
ground,  if  none  be  seen  where  it  should  be;  or  else 
that  the  flower  hath  changed  in  color  when  it  had 
been  taken  away,  or  a  counterfeit  one  had  been  put 
in  the  place  thereof;  and  thus  many  have  been  de- 
ceived of  their  daintiest  flowers,  without  remedy  or 
knowledge  of  the  defect." 

The  influence  of  the  Italian  Renaissance  upon 
the  Elizabethan  garden  has  already  been  shown 
(see  page  15),  but  the  importance  of  this  may  be 
appropriately  recalled  here  in  the  following  extract 
from  Bloom: 

"The  Wars  of  the  Roses  gave  little  time  for  gar- 
dening ;  and  when  matters  were  settled  and  the  edu- 
cational movements  which  marked  the  dawn  of  the 
Renaissance  began,  the  gardens  once  again,  after  a 

Exotic. 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"      39 

break  of  more  than  a  thousand  years,  went  back  to 
classical  models,  as  interpreted  by  the  Italian  school 
of  the  time.  Thus  the  gardens  of  the  Palace  of 
Nonesuch  (1529)  and  Theobald's  (1560)  showed 
all  the  new  ideas:  flower-beds  edged  with  low  trel- 
lises, topiary  work  of  cut  box  and  yew,  whereby  the 
natural  growth  of  the  trees  was  trained  into  figures 
of  birds  and  animals  and  especially  of  peacocks; 
while  here  and  there  mounts  were  thrown  up  against 
the  orchard  or  garden  wall,  ascended  by  flights  of 
steps  and  crowned  with  arbors,  while  sometimes  the 
view  obtained  in  this  manner  was  deemed  insuffi- 
cient and  trellised  galleries  extended  the  whole 
length  of  the  garden.  In  1573  the  gardens  of  Kenil- 
worth,  which  Shakespeare  almost  certainly  visited, 
had  a  terrace  walk  twelve  feet  in  width  and  raised 
ten  feet  above  the  garden,  terminating  at  either  end 
in  arbors  redolent  with  sweetbrier  and  flowers.  Be- 
neath these  again  was  a  garden  of  an  acre  or  more 
in  size  divided  into  four  quarters  by  sanded  walks 
and  having  in  the  center  of  each  plot  an  obelisk  of 
red  porphyry  with  a  ball  at  the  top.  These  were 
planted  with  apple,  pear  and  cherry  while  in  the 
center  was  a  fountain  of  white  marble." 


40        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

II 

The  Elizabethan  Garden 

The  Elizabethan  garden  was  usually  four-square, 
bordered  all  around  by  hedges  and  intersected  by 
paths.  There  was  an  outer  hedge  that  enclosed  the 
entire  garden  and  this  was  a  tall  and  thick  hedge 
made  of  privet,  sweetbrier,  and  white  thorn  inter- 
mingled with  roses.  Sometimes,  however,  this  outer 
hedge  was  of  holly.  Again  some  people  preferred 
to  enclose  their  garden  by  a  wall  of  brick  or  stone. 
On  the  side  facing  the  house  the  gate  was  placed. 
In  stately  gardens  the  gate  was  of  elaborately 
wrought  iron  hung  between  stone  or  brick  pillars  on 
the  top  of  which  stone  vases,  or  urns,  held  brightly 
blooming  flowers  and  drooping  vines.  In  simple 
gardens  the  entrance  was  a  plain  wooden  door, 
painted  and  set  into  the  wall  or  hedge  like  the  quaint 
little  doors  we  see  in  England  to-day  and  represented 
in  Kate  Greenaway's  pictures  that  show  us  how  the 
style  persists  even  to  the  present  time. 

Stately  gardens  were  usually  approached  from  a 
terrace  running  along  the  line  of  the  house  and  com- 
manding a  view  of  the  garden,  to  which  broad  flights 
of  steps  led.  Thence  extended  the  principal  walks, 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"       41 

called  "forthrights,"  in  straight  lines  at  right  angles 
to  the  terrace  and  intersected  by  other  walks  parallel 
with  the  terrace.  The  lay-out  of  the  garden,  there- 
fore, corresponded  with  the  ground-plan  of  the  man- 
sion. The  squares  formed  naturally  by  the  intersec- 
tion of  the  "forthrights"  and  other  walks  were  filled 
with  curious  beds  of  geometrical  patterns  that  were 
known  as  "knots";  mazes,  or  labyrinths;  orchards; 
or  plain  grass-plots.  Sometimes  all  of  the  spaces  or 
squares  were  devoted  to  "knots."  These  ornamental 
flower-beds  were  edged  with  box,  thrift,  or  thyme 
and  were  surrounded  with  tiny  walks  made  of  gravel 
or  colored  sand,  walks  arranged  around  the  beds  so 
that  the  garden  lovers  might  view  the  flowers  at 
close  range  and  pick  them  easily. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  "Love's  Labour's 
Lost"  Shakespeare  speaks  of  "the  curious  knotted 
garden."  There  are  innumerable  designs  for  these 
"knots"  in  the  old  Elizabethan  garden-books,  repre- 
senting the  simple  squares,  triangles,  and  rhomboids 
as  well  as  the  most  intricate  scrolls,  and  complicated 
interlacings  of  Renaissance  design  that  resemble  the 
motives  on  carved  furniture,  designs  for  textiles  and 
ornamental  leather- work  (known  as  strap- work,  or 
cuirs).  Yet  these  many  hundreds  of  designs  were 
not  sufficient,  for  the  amateur  as  well  as  the  profes- 


42        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

sional  gardener  often  invented  his  own  garden 
"knots." 

Where  the  inner  paths  intersected,  a  fountain  or 
a  statue  or  some  other  ornament  was  frequently 
placed.  Sometimes,  too,  vases,  or  urns,  of  stone  or 
lead,  were  arranged  about  the  garden  in  formal  style 
inspired  by  the  taste  of  Italy.  Sometimes,  also, 
large  Oriental  or  stone  jars  were  placed  in  con- 
spicuous spots,  and  these  were  not  only  intended  for 
decoration  but  served  as  receptacles  for  water. 

There  were  four  principles  that  were  observed  in 
all  stately  Elizabethan  gardens.  The  first  was  to 
lay  out  the  garden  in  accordance  with  the  architec- 
ture of  the  house  in  long  terraces  and  paths  of  right 
lines,  or  "forthrights,"  to  harmonize  with  the 
rectangular  lines  of  the  Tudor  buildings,  yet  at  the 
same  time  to  break  up  the  monotony  of  the  straight 
lines  with  beds  of  intricate  patterns,  just  as  in  the 
case  of  architecture  bay-windows,  clustered  and 
twisted  chimneys,  intricate  tracery,  mullioned  win- 
dows, and  ornamental  gables  relieved  the  straight 
lines  of  the  building. 

The  second  principle  was  to  plant  the  beds  with 
mixed  flowers  and  to  let  the  colors  intermingle  and 
blend  in  such  a  way  as  to  produce  a  mosaic  of  rich, 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"      43 

indeterminate  color,  ever  new  and  ever  varying  as 
the  flowers  of  the  different  seasons  succeeded  each 
other. 

The  third  principle  was  to  produce  a  garden  of 
flowers  and  shrubs  for  all  seasons,  even  winter,  that 
would  tempt  the  owner  to  take  pleasure  and  exer- 
cise there,  where  he  might  find  recreation,  literally 
re-creation  of  mind  and  body,  and  become  freshened 
in  spirit  and  renewed  in  health. 

The  fourth  principle  was  to  produce  a  garden 
that  would  give  delight  to  the  sense  of  smell  as  well 
as  to  the  sense  of  vision — an  idea  no  longer  sought 
for  by  gardeners. 

Hence  it  was  just  as  important,  and  infinitely 
more  subtle,  to  mingle  the  perfumes  of  flowers  while 
growing  so  that  the  air  would  be  deliciously  scented 
by  a  combination  of  harmonizing  odors  as  to  mingle 
the  perfumes  of  flowers  plucked  for  a  nosegay,  or 
Tussie-mussie,  as  the  Elizabethans  sometimes 
quaintly  called  it. 

Like  all  cultivated  Elizabethans,  Shakespeare  ap- 
preciated the  delicious  fragrance  of  flowers  blooming 
in  the  garden  when  the  soft  breeze  is  stirring  their 
leaves  and  petals.  There  was  but  one  thing  to  which 
this  subtle  perfume  might  be  compared  and  that  was 


44        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

ethereal  and  mysterious  music.  For  example,  the 
elegant  Duke  in  "Twelfth  Night,"  reclining  on  his 
divan  and  listening  to  music,  commands: 

That  strain  again!     It  had  a  dying  fall. 
O  it  came  o'er  my  ear  like  the  sweet  south 
That  breathes  upon  a  bank  of  violets 
Stealing  and  giving  odor. 

Lord  Bacon  also  associated  the  scent  of  delicate 
flowers  with  music.  He  writes:  "And  because  the 
breath  of  flowers  is  far  sweeter  in  the  air  (whence 
it  comes  and  goes  like  the  warbling  of  music)  than 
in  the  hand,  therefore  nothing  is  more  fit  for  de- 
light than  to  know  what  be  the  flowers  and  plants 
that  do  best  perfume  the  air.  Roses,  damask,  and 
red,  are  fast  flowers  of  their  smells,  so  that  you  may 
walk  by  a  whole  row  of  them  and  find  nothing  of 
their  sweetness,  yea  though  it  be  in  a  morning's  dew. 
Bays,  likewise,  yield  no  smell  as  they  grow,  rose- 
mary little,  nor  sweet  marjoram.  That  which  above 
all  others  yields  the  sweetest  smell  in  the  air  is  the 
violet,  especially  the  white  double  violet,  which 
comes  twice  a  year — about  the  middle  of  April  and 
about  Bartholomew-tide.  Next  to  that  is  the  musk- 
rose,  then  the  strawberry  leaves  dying,  which  yield 
a  most  excellent  cordial  smell,  then  the  flower  of 
the  vines,  it  is  a  little  dust,  like  the  dust  of  a  bent, 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"      45 

which  grows  upon  the  cluster  in  the  first  coming 
forth;  then  sweetbrier,  then  wall-flowers,  which  are 
very  delightful  to  be  set  under  a  parlor  or  lower 
chamber  window;  then  pinks  and  gilliflowers;  then 
the  flowers  of  the  lime-tree;  then  the  honeysuckles, 
so  they  be  somewhat  afar  off;  of  bean  flowers,  I 
speak  not,  because  they  are  field  flowers.  But  those 
which  perfume  the  air  most  delightfully  not  passed 
by  as  the  rest  but  being  trodden  upon  and  crushed 
are  three:  burnet,  wild  thyme  and  water-mints. 
Therefore,  you  are  to  set  whole  alleys  of  them  to 
have  the  pleasure  when  you  walk  or  tread." 

Shakespeare  very  nearly  follows  Bacon's  order 
of  perfume  values  in  his  selection  of  flowers  to  adorn 
the  beautiful  spot  in  the  wood  where  Titania  sleeps. 
Oberon  describes  it: 

I  know  a  bank  where  the  wild  thyme  blows, 
Where  oxlips  and  the  nodding  violet  grows, 
Quite  over-canopied  with  luscious  woodbine, 
With  sweet  musk-roses  and  with  eglantine. 
There  sleeps  Titania  sometime  of  the  night, 
Lulled  in  these  flowers  with  dances  and  delight. 

Fairies  were  thought  to  be  particularly  fond  of 
thyme;  and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  Shakespeare 
carpeted  the  bank  with  this  sweet  herb.  Moreover, 
as  we  have  just  seen,  Bacon  tells  us  that  thyme  is 


46        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

one  of  those  plants  which  are  particularly  delightful 
if  trodden  upon  and  crushed.  Shakespeare  accord- 
ingly knew  that  the  pressure  of  the  Fairy  Queen's 
little  body  upon  the  thyme  would  cause  it  to  yield  a 
delicious  perfume. 

The  Elizabethans,  much  more  sensitive  to  per- 
fume than  we  are  to-day,  appreciated  the  scent  of 
what  we  consider  lowly  flowers.  They  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  place  a  sprig  of  rosemary  in  a  nosegay  of 
choice  flowers.  They  loved  thyme,  lavender, 
marjoram,  mints,  balm,  and  camomile,  thinking  that 
these  herbs  refreshed  the  head,  stimulated  the 
memory,  and  were  antidotes  against  the  plague. 

The  flowers  in  the  "knots"  were  perennials, 
planted  so  as  to  gain  uniformity  of  height ;  and  those 
that  had  affinity  for  one  another  were  placed  side 
by  side.  No  attempt  was  made  to  group  them;  and 
no  attempt  was  made  to  get  masses  of  separate  color, 
what  Locker-Lampson  calls  "a  mist  of  blue  in  the 
beds,  a  blaze  of  red  in  the  celadon  jars"  and  what 
we  try  for  to-day.  On  the  contrary,  the  Elizabethan 
gardener's  idea  was  to  mix  and  blend  the  flowers 
into  a  combination  of  varied  hues  that  melted  into 
one  another  as  the  hues  of  a  rainbow  blend  and  in 
such  a  way  that  at  a  distance  no  one  could  possibly 
tell  what  flowers  produced  this  effect.  This  must 


'THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"      47 

have  required  much  study  on  the  part  of  the  gar- 
deners, who  kept  pace  with  the  seasons  and  always 
had  their  beds  in  bloom.  Sir  Henry  Wotton,  Am- 
bassador to  Venice  in  the  reign  of  James  I,  and 
author  of  the  "Elements  of  Architecture,"  but  far 
better  known  by  his  lovely  verse  to  Elizabeth  of 
Bohemia  beginning,  "You  meaner  beauties  of  the 
night,"  was  an  ardent  flower  lover.  He  was  greatly 
impressed  by  what  he  called  "a  delicate  curiosity 
in  the  way  of  color" : 

"Namely  in  the  Garden  of  Sir  Henry  Fanshaw 
at  his  seat  in  Ware  Park,  where  I  well  remember  he 
did  so  precisely  examine  the  tinctures  and  seasons 
of  his  -flowers  that  in  their  settings,  the  inwardest 
of  which  that  were  to  come  up  at  the  same  time, 
should  be  always  a  little  darker  than  the  outmost, 
and  so  serve  them  for  a  kind  of  gentle  shadow,  like 
a  piece  not  of  Nature  but  of  Art"  , 

Browne  also  gives  a  splendid  idea  of  the  color 
effect  of  the  garden  beds  of  this  period: 

As  in  a  rainbow's  many  color'd  hue, 
Here  we  see  watchet  deepen'd  with  a  blue ; 
There  a  dark  tawny,  with  a  purple  mix'd; 
Yellow  and  flame,  with  streaks  of  green  betwixt; 
A  bloody  stream  into  a  blushing  run, 
And  ends  still  with  the  color  which  begun; 
Drawing  the  deeper  to  a  lighter  strain, 


48        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

Bringing  the  lightest  to  the  deepest  again; 
With  such  rare  art  each  mingled  with  his  fellow, 
The  blue  with  watchet,  green  and  red  with  yellow ; 
Like  to  the  changes  which  we  daily  see 
Around  the  dove's  neck  with  variety; 
Where  none  can  say  (though  he  it  strict  attends), 
Here  one  begins  and  there  another  ends. 
Using  such  cunning  as  they  did  dispose 
The  ruddy  Piony  with  the  lighter  Rose, 
The  Monkshood  with  the  Buglos,  and  entwine 
The  white,  the  blue,  the  flesh-like  Columbine 
With  Pinks,  Sweet- Williams ;  that,  far  off,  the  eye 
Could  not  the  manner  of  their  mixture  spy. 

By  the  side  of  the  showy  and  stately  flowers, 
as  well  as  in  kitchen  gardens,  were  grown  the 
"herbs  of  grace"  for  culinary  purposes  and  the 
medicinal  herbs  for  "drams  of  poison."  Rosemary 
— "the  cheerful  Rosemary,"  Spenser  calls  it — was 
trained  over  arbors  and  permitted  to  run  over 
mounds  and  banks  as  it  pleased.  Sir  Thomas  More 
allowed  it  to  run  all  over  his  garden  because  the 
bees  loved  it  and  because  it  was  the  herb  sacred  to 
remembrance  and  friendship. 

In  every  garden  the  arbor  was  conspicuous.  Some- 
times it  was  a  handsome  little  pavilion  or  summer- 
house;  sometimes  it  was  set  into  the  hedge;  some- 
times it  was  cut  out  of  the  hedge  in  fantastic  topiary 
work;  sometimes  it  was  made  of  lattice  work;  and 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"      49 

sometimes  it  was  formed  of  upright  or  horizontal 
poles,  over  which  roses,  honeysuckle,  or  clematis 
(named  also  Lady's  Bower  because  of  this  use)  were 
trained.  Whatever  the  framework  was,  plain  or 
ornate,  mattered  but  little;  it  was  the  creeper  that 
counted,  the  trailing  vines  that  gave  character  to 
the  arbor,  that  gave  delight  to  those  who  sought  the 
arbor  to  rest  during  their  stroll  through  the  gardens, 
or  to  indulge  in  a  pleasant  chat,  or  delightful  flirta- 
tion. Shakespeare's  arbor  for  Titania 

Quite  over-canopied  with  luscious  woodbine, 
With  sweet  musk-roses  and  with  eglantine, 

was  not  unusual.  Nor  was  that  retreat  where  saucy 
Beatrice  was  lured  to  hear  the  whisperings  of  Hero 
regarding  Benedick's  interest  in  her.  It  was  a 
pavilion 

Where  honeysuckles  ripened  by  the  sun 
Forbid  the  sun  to  enter. 

Luxuriant  and  delicious  was  this  bower  with  the 
flowers  hot  and  sweet  in  the  bright  sunshine. 

Eglantine  was,  perhaps,  the  favorite  climber  for 
arbors  and  bowers.  Browne  speaks  of 

An  arbor   shadow'd  with   a   vine 
Mixed  with  rosemary  and  with  eglantine. 

Barnfield,  in  "The  Affectionate  Shepherd," 
pleads : 


50        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

I  would  make  cabinets  for  thee,  my  love, 
Sweet-smelling  arbors  made  of  eglantine. 

And  in  Spenser's  "Bower  of  Bliss" : 

Art,  striving  to  compare 
With  Nature,   did  an  arbor  green   dispread 
Framed  of  wanton  ivy,  flow'ring  fair, 
Through  which  the  fragrant  eglantine  did  spread 
His  prickling  arms,  entrayl'd  with  roses  red, 
Which  dainty  odors  round  about  them  threw; 
And  all  within  with  flowers  was  garnished, 
That  when  Zephyrus  amongst  them  blew 
Did  breathe  out  bounteous  smells  and  painted  odors 
shew. 

A  beautiful  method  of  obtaining  shady  walks  was 
to  make  a  kind  of  continuous  arbor  or  arcade  of 
trees,  trellises,  and  vines.  This  arcade  was  called 
poetically  the  "pleached  alley."  *  For  the  trees, 
willows,  limes  (lindens),  and  maples  were  used,  and 
the  vines  were  eglantine  and  other  roses,  honeysuckle 
(woodbine),  clematis,  rosemary,  and  grapevines. 

Another  feature  of  the  garden  was  the  maze,  or 

1  Pleaching  means  trimming  the  small  branches  and  foliage  of 
trees,  or  bushes,  to  bring  them  to  a  regular  shape.  Certain  trees 
only  are  submissive  to  this  treatment — holly,  box,  yew  privet, 
whitethorn,  hornbeam,  linden,  etc.,  to  make  arbors,  hedges,  bowers, 
colonnades  and  all  cut-work. 

"Plashing  is  the  half-cutting,  or  dividing  of  the  quick  growth 
almost  to  the  outward  bark  and  then  laying  it  orderly  in  a  slope 
manner  as  you  see  a  cunning  hedger  lay  a  dead  hedge  and  then 
with  the  smaller  and  more  pliant  branches  to  wreath  and  bind 
in  the  tops."  Markham,  "The  County  Farm"  (London,  1616). 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"       $1 

labyrinth.  It  was  a  favorite  diversion  for  a  visitor 
to  puzzle  his  way  through  the  green  walls,  breast 
high,  to  the  center;  and  the  owner  took  delight  in 
watching  the  mistakes  of  his  friend  and  was  always 
ready  to  give  him  the  clue.  When  James  I  on  his 
"Southern  Progress"  in  1603  visited  the  magnificent 
garden  known  as  Theobald's  and  belonging  to  Lord 
Burleigh,  where  we  have  already  seen  l  Gerard  was 
the  horticulturist,  the  King  went  into  the  labyrinth 
of  the  garden  "where  he  re-created  himself  in  the 
meanders  compact  of  bays,  rosemary  and  the  like, 
overshadowing  his  walk." 

The  labyrinth,  or  maze,  was  a  fad  of  the  day.  It 
still  exists  in  many  English  gardens  that  date  from 
Elizabethan  times  and  is  a  feature  of  many  more 
recent  gardens.  Perhaps  of  all  mazes  the  one  at 
Hampton  Court  Palace  is  the  most  famous. 

The  orchard  was  another  feature  of  the  Eliza- 
bethan garden.  It  was  the  custom  for  gentlemen 
to  retire  after  dinner  (which  took  place  at  eleven 
o'clock  in  the  morning)  to  the  garden  arbor,  or 
to  the  orchard,  to  partake  of  the  "banquet"  or 
dessert.  Thus  Shallow  addressing  Falstaff  after 
dinner  exclaims: 

"Nay,  you  shall  see  mine  orchard,  where,  in  an 

"Page  33. 


$2        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

arbor,  we  will  eat  a  last  year's  pippin  of  my  own 
grafting  with  a  dish  of  carraways  and  so  forth." 

The  uses  of  the  Elizabethan  garden  were  many: 
to  walk  in,  to  sit  in,  to  dream  in.  Here  the  courtier, 
poet,  merchant,  or  country  squire  found  refreshment 
for  his  mind  and  recreation  for  his  body.  The  gar- 
den was  also  intended  to  supply  flowers  for  nose- 
gays, house  decoration,  and  the  decoration  of  the 
church.  Sweet-smelling  herbs  and  rushes  were 
strewn  upon  the  floor  as  we  know  by  Grumio's  order 
for  Petruchio's  homecoming  in  "The  Taming  of  the 
Shrew."  One  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  Maids  of 
Honor  had  a  fixed  salary  for  keeping  fresh  flowers 
always  in  readiness.  The  office  of  "herb-strewer  to 
her  Majesty  the  Queen"  was  continued  as  late  as 
1713,  through  the  reign  of  Anne  and  almost  into 
that  of  George  I. 

The  houses  were  very  fragrant  with  flowers  in 
pots  and  vases  as  well  as  with  the  rushes  on  the  floor. 
Flowers  were  therefore  very  important  features  in 
house  decoration.  A  Dutch  traveler,  Dr.  Leminius, 
who  visited  England  in  1560,  was  much  struck  by 
this  and  wrote : 

"Their  chambers  and  parlors  strewed  over  with 
sweet  herbs  refreshed  me;  their  nosegays  finely  in- 

'"King  Henry  IV";  Part  II,  Act  V,  Scene  III. 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"      53 

termingled  with  sundry  sorts  of  fragrant  flowers  in 
their  bed-chambers  and  private  rooms  with  comfort- 
able smell  cheered  me  up  and  entirely  delighted  all 
my  senses." 

We  have  only  to  look  at  contemporary  portraits 
to  see  how  essential  flowers  were  in  daily  life.  For 
instance,  Holbein's  "George  Gisze,"  a  London  mer- 
chant, painted  in  1523,  has  a  vase  of  choice  carna- 
tions beside  him  on  the  table  filled  with  scales, 
weights,  and  business  paraphernalia. 

The  Elizabethan  lady  was  just  as  learned  in  the 
medicinal  properties  of  flowers  and  herbs  as  her 
Medieval  ancestor.  She  regarded  her  garden  as  a 
place  of  delight  and  at  the  same  time  as  of  the 
greatest  importance  in  the  economic  management 
of  the  household. 

"The  housewife  was  the  great  ally  of  the  doctor: 
in  her  still-room  the  lady  with  the  ruff  and  farthin- 
gale was  ever  busy  with  the  preparation  of  cordials, 
cooling  waters,  conserves  of  roses,  spirits  of  herbs 
and  juleps  for  calentures  and  fevers.  All  the  herbs 
and  flowers  of  the  field  and  garden  passed  through 
her  fair  white  hands.  Poppy-water  was  good  for 
weak  stomachs;  mint  and  rue-water  was  efficacious 
for  the  head  and  brain;  and  even  walnuts  yielded 
a  cordial.  Then  there  was  cinnamon  water  and  the 


54        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

essence  of  cloves,  gilliflower  and  lemon  water,  sweet 
marjoram  water  and  the  spirit  of  ambergris. 

"These  were  the  Elizabethan  lady's  severer  toils, 
besides  acres  of  tapestry  she  had  always  on  hand. 
Her  more  playful  hours  were  devoted  to  the  manu- 
facture of  casselettes,  month  pastilles,  sweet  waters, 
odoriferant  balls  and  scented  gums  for  her  husband's 
pipe  (God  bless  her!)  and  there  were  balsams  and 
electuaries  for  him  to  take  to  camp,  if  he  were  a 
soldier  fighting  in  Ireland  or  in  the  Low  Countries, 
and  wound-drinks  if  he  was  a  companion  of 
Frobisher  and  bound  against  the  Spaniard,  or  the 
Indian  pearl-diver  of  the  Pacific.  She  had  a  specific 
which  was  of  exceeding  virtue  in  all  swooning  of 
the  head,  decaying  of  the  spirits,  also  in  all  pains 
and  numbness  of  joints  and  coming  of  cold. 

"That  wonderful  still-room  contains  not  only 
dried  herbs  and  drugs,  but  gums,  spices,  ambergris, 
storax  and  cedar-bark,  civet  and  dried  flowers  and 
roots.  In  that  bowl  angelica,  carduus  benedictus 
(Holy  Thistle),  betony,  juniper-berries  and  worm- 
wood are  steeping  to  make  a  cordial-water  for  the 
young  son  about  to  travel;  and  yonder  is  oil  of 
cloves,  oil  of  nutmegs,  oil  of  cinnamon,  sugar,  am- 
begris  and  musk,  all  mingling  to  form  a  quart  of 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"       55 

liquor  as  sweet  as  hypocras.  Those  scents  and  spices 
are  for  perfumed  balls  to  be  worn  round  the  ladies' 
necks,  there  to  move  up  and  down  to  the  music  of 
sighs  and  heart-beating,  envied  by  lovers  whose  let- 
ters will  perhaps  be  perfumed  by  their  contact. 

"What  pleasant  bright  London  gardens  we  dream 
of  when  we  find  that  the  remedy  for  a  burning  fever 
is  honeysuckle  leaves  steeped  in  water,  and  that  a 
cooling  drink  is  composed  of  wood  sorrel  and  Roman 
sorrel  bruised  and  mixed  with  orange  juice  and 
barley-water.  Mint  is  good  for  colic;  conserves  of 
roses  for  the  tickling  rheum;  plaintain  for  flux; 
vervain  for  liver-complaint — all  sound  pleasanter 
than  those  strong  biting  minerals  which  now  kill  or 
cure  and  give  nature  no  time  to  heal  us  in  her  own 
quiet  way."  t 

Bacon's  "Essay  on  Gardening"  is  very  detailed 
and  very  practical,  and  it  must  be  remembered  that 
he  was  addressing  highly  cultivated  and  skilfully 
trained  amateurs  and  professional  gardeners  when 
he  wrote : 

"God  almighty  first  planted  a  garden;  and  indeed 
it  is  the  purest  of  human  pleasures ;  it  is  the  greatest 
refreshment  to  the  spirit  of  man.  And  a  man  shall 

1  Thornbury. 


56        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

ever  see  that  when  ages  grow  to  civility  and  elegancy 
men  come  to  build  stately  sooner  than  to  garden 
finely,  as  if  gardening  were  the  greater  perfection." 

The  Elizabethan  Age,  with  its  superlatively  culti- 
vated men  and  women,  was  certainly  one  of  those 
ages  of  civility  and  elegancy  of  which  Bacon  speaks. 
The  houses  were  stately  and  the  gardens  perfection, 
affording  appropriate  setting  for  the  brilliant  cour- 
tiers and  accomplished  ladies  of  both  Tudor  and 
early  Stuart  times. 

We  sometimes  hear  it  said  that  Francis  Bacon's 
garden  was  his  ideal  of  what  a  garden  should  be 
and  that  his  garden  was  never  realized.  This,  how- 
ever, is  not  the  case.  Old  prints  are  numerous  of 
gardens  of  wealthy  persons  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth 
and  James  I.  Then,  too,  we  have  Sir  William 
Temple's  description  of  Moor  Park,  and  "this  gar- 
den," says  Horace  Walpole,  "seems  to  have  been 
made  after  the  plan  laid  down  by  Lord  Bacon  in 
his  Forty-sixth  Essay." 

Sir  William's  account  is  as  follows : 

"The  perfectest  figure  of  a  garden  I  ever  saw, 
either  at  home  or  abroad,  was  that  of  Moor  Park  in 
Hertfordshire,  when  I  knew  it  about  thirty  years 
ago.  It  was  made  by  the  Countess  of  Bedford, 
esteemed  among  the  perfectest  wits  of  her  time  and 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"      57 

celebrated  by  Dr.  Donne ;  and  with  very  great  care, 
excellent  contrivance  and  much  cost. 

"Because  I  take  the  garden  I  have  named  to  have 
been  in  all  kinds  the  most  beautiful  and  perfect,  at 
least  in  the  figure  and  disposition,  that  I  have  ever 
seen,  I  will  describe  it  for  a  model  to  those  that  meet 
with  such  a  situation  and  are  above  the  regards  of 
common  expense. 

"It  lies  on  the  side  of  a  hill,  upon  which  the  house 
stands,  but  not  very  steep.  The  length  of  the  house, 
where  the  best  rooms  and  of  most  use  or  pleasure 
are,  lies  upon  the  breadth  of  the  garden;  the  great 
parlor  opens  into  the  middle  of  a  terrace  gravel  walk 
that  lies  even  with  it,  and  which  may  lie,  as  I  re- 
member, about  three  hundred  paces  long  and  broad 
in  proportion;  the  border  set  with  standard  laurels' 
and  at  large  distances,  which  have  the  beauty  of 
orange-trees  out  of  flower  and  fruit.  From  this  walk 
are  three  descents  by  many  stone  steps,  in  the  mid- 
dle and  at  each  end,  into  a  very  large  parterre.  This 
is  divided  into  quarters  by  gravel  walks  and 
adorned  with  two  fountains  and  eight  statues  in 
the  several  quarters.  At  the  end  of  a  terrace  walk 
are  two  summer-houses,  and  the  sides  of  the  parterre 
are  ranged  with  two  large  cloisters  open  to  the 
garden,  upon  arches  of  stone,  and  ending  with  two 


58        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

other  summer-houses  even  with  the  cloisters,  which 
are  paved  with  stone,  and  designed  for  walks  of 
shade,  there  being  none  other  in  the  whole  parterre. 
Over  these  two  cloisters  are  two  terraces  covered 
with  lead  and  fenced  with  balustrades;  and  the 
passage  into  these  airy  walks  is  out  of  the  two  sum- 
mer-houses at  the  end  of  the  first  terrace  walk.  The 
cloister  facing  the  south  is  covered  with  vines  and 
would  have  been  proper  for  an  orange-house,  and 
the  other  for  myrtles  or  other  more  common  greens, 
and  had,  I  doubt  not,  been  cast  for  that  purpose,  if 
this  piece  of  gardening  had  been  then  in  as  much 
vogue  as  it  is  now. 

"From  the  middle  of  this  parterre  is  a  descent  by 
many  steps  flying  on  each  side  of  a  grotto  that  lies 
between  them,  covered  with  lead  and  flat,  into  the 
lower  garden,  which  is  all  fruit-trees  ranged  about 
the  several  quarters  of  a  wilderness  which  is  very 
shady;  the  walks  here  are  all  green,  the  grotto  em- 
bellished with  figures  of  shell  rock- work,  fountains 
and  water-works.  If  the  hill  had  not  ended  with  the 
lower  garden,  and  the  wall  were  not  bounded  by  a 
common  way  that  goes  through  the  park,  they  might 
have  added  a  third  quarter  of  all  greens;  but  this 
want  is  supplied  by  a  garden  on  the  other  side  of 


'THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"      59 

the  house,  which  is  all  of  that  sort,  very  wild,  shady, 
and  adorned  with  rough  rock  work  and  fountains." 

To  write  of  Elizabethan  gardens  without  giving 
Bacon's  beautifully  worked  out  theories  would  be 
like  performing  "Hamlet"  without  the  character  of 
Hamlet.  Bacon's  Essay  is  too  long  to  quote  in  its 
entirety,  but  the  specific  instructions  are  as  follows : 

"For  gardens  (speaking  of  those  which  are  in- 
deed prince-like),  the  contents  ought  not  well  to 
be  under  thirty  acres  of  ground;  and  to  be  divided 
into  three  parts :  a  green  in  the  entrance ;  a  heath  or 
desert  in  the  going  forth;  and  the  main  garden  in 
the  midst,  besides  alleys  on  both  sides.  And  I  like 
well  that  four  acres  of  ground  be  assigned  to  the 
green,  six  to  the  heath,  four  and  a  half  to  either 
side  and  twelve  to  the  main  garden.  The  green  hath 
two  pleasures:  the  one  because  nothing  is  more 
pleasant  to  the  eye  than  green  grass  kept  finely 
shorn ;  the  other  because  it  will  give  you  a  fair  alley 
in  the  midst,  by  which  you  may  go  in  front  upon 
a  stately  hedge,  which  is  to  enclose  this  garden. 
But  because  the  alley  will  be  long,  and  in  great  heat 
of  the  year  or  day,  you  ought  not  to  buy  the  shade 
in  the  garden  by  going  in  the  sun  through  the  green ; 
therefore,  you  are  of  either  side  the  green  to  plant 


60        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

a  covert  alley  upon  carpenter's  work,  about  twelve 
foot  in  height,  by  which  you  may  go  in  shade  into 
the  garden. 

"The  garden  is  best  to  be  square,  encompassed 
on  all  the  four  sides  with  a  stately  arched  hedge. 
The  arches  to  be  upon  pillars  of  carpenter's  work, 
of  some  ten  foot  high  and  six  foot  broad,  and  the 
spaces  between  of  the  same  dimension  with  the 
breadth  of  the  arch;  over  the  arches  let  there  be  an 
entire  hedge  of  some  four  foot  high,  framed  also 
upon  carpenter's  work;  and  upon  the  upper  hedge, 
over  every  arch,  a  little  turret  with  a  belly,  enough 
to  receive  a  cage  of  birds;  and  over  every  space, 
between  the  arches,  some  other  little  figure,  with 
broad  plates  of  round  colored  glass,  gilt,  for  the 
sun  to  play  upon.  But  this  hedge  I  intend  to  be 
raised  upon  a  bank,  not  steep,  but  gentle  slope,  of 
some  six  foot,  set  all  with  flowers.  Also  I  under- 
stand that  this  square  of  the  garden  should  not  be 
the  whole  breadth  of  the  ground,  but  to  leave  on 
either  side  ground  enough  for  diversity  of  side  alleys, 
into  which  the  two  covert  alleys  of  the  green  may 
deliver  you.  But  there  must  be  no  alleys  with 
hedges  at  either  end  of  this  great  enclosure. 

"For  the  main  garden  I  do  not  deny  there  should 
be  some  fair  alleys,  ranged  on  both  sides  with  fruit- 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"      61 

trees,  and  arbors  with  seats  set  in  some  decent  order ; 
but  these  to  be  by  no  means  set  too  thick,  but  to 
leave  the  main  garden  so  as  it  be  not  close,  but  the 
air  open  and  free.  For,  as  for  shade,  I  would  have 
you  rest  upon  the  alleys  of  the  side  grounds,  there 
to  walk,  if  you  be  disposed,  in  the  heat  of  the  year, 
or  day,  but  to  make  account  that  the  main  garden  is 
for  the  more  temperate  parts  of  the  year  and  in  the 
heat  of  the  summer  for  the  morning  and  the  evening, 
or  overcast  days. 

"For  the  side  grounds  you  are  to  fill  them  with 
variety  of  alleys,  private,  to  give  a  full  shade,  some 
of  them  wheresoever  the  sun  be.  You  are  to  frame 
some  of  them  likewise  for  shelter,  that  when  the 
wind  blows  sharp  you  may  walk  as  in  a  gallery. 
And  these  alleys  must  be,  likewise,  hedged  at  both 
ends  to  keep  out  the  wind,  and  these  closer  alleys 
must  be  ever  finely  graveled  and  no  grass,  because  of 
going  wet.  In  many  of  these  alleys,  likewise,  you 
are  to  set  fruit-trees  of  all  sorts,  as  well  upon  the 
walls  as  in  ranges.  And  this  would  be  generally 
observed  that  the  borders  wherein  you  plant  your 
fruit-trees  be  fair  and  large  and  low  (and  not  steep) 
and  set  with  fine  flowers,  but  thin  and  sparingly 
lest  they  deceive  the  trees.  At  the  end  of  both  the 
side  grounds  I  would  have  a  mount  of  some  pretty 


62         THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

height,  leaving  the  wall  of  the  enclosure  breast  high, 
to  look  abroad  into  the  fields. 

"For  the  heath,  which  was  the  third  part  of  our 
plot,  I  wish  it  to  be  framed,  as  much  as  may  be,  to 
a  natural  wildness.  Trees,  I  would  have  none  in  it ; 
but  some  thickets  made  only  of  sweetbrier  and 
honeysuckle  and  some  wild  vine  amongst;  and  the 
ground  set  with  violets,  strawberries  and  primroses; 
for  these  are  sweet  and  prosper  in  the  shade;  and 
these  to  be  in  the  heath,  here  and  there,  not  in  any 
order.  I  also  like  little  heaps  in  the  nature  of  mole; 
hills  (such  as  are  in  wild  heaths)  to  be  set,  some 
with  wild  thyme,  some  with  pinks,  some  with 
germander  that  gives  a  good  flower  to  the  eye ;  some 
with  periwinkle,  some  with  violets,  some  with  straw- 
berries, some  with  cowslips,  some  with  daisies,  some 
with  red  roses,  some  with  lilium  convallium*  some 
with  sweet  williams,  red,  some  with  bear's  foot 2  and 
the  like  low  flowers,  being  withal  sweet  and  sightly. 
Part  of  which  heaps  to  be  with  standards  of  little 
bushes  pricked  upon  their  top  and  put  without.  The 
standards  to  be  roses,  juniper,  holly,  barberries  (but 
here  and  there,  because  of  the  smell  of  their  blos- 
som), red  currants,  gooseberries,  rosemary,  bays, 

'Lily-of-tluMralley. 
3  Auricula. 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"      63 

sweetbrier  and  the  like.  But  these  standards  to  be 
kept  with  cutting  that  they  grow  not  out  of  course. 

"For  the  ordering  of  the  ground  within  the  great 
hedge,  I  leave  it  to  variety  of  device;  advising, 
nevertheless,  that  whatsoever  form  you  cast  it  into, 
first  it  be  not  too  busy  or  full  of  work.  Wherein 
I,  for  my  part,  do  not  like  images  cut  out  in  juniper, 
or  other  garden  stuff — they  be  for  children.  Little 
low  hedges,  round  like  welts,  with  some  pretty  pyra- 
mids, I  like  well,  and  in  some  places  fair  columns 
upon  frames  of  carpenter's  work.  I  would  also  have 
the  alleys  spacious  and  fair.  You  may  have  closer 
alleys  upon  the  side  grounds,  but  none  in  the  main 
garden.  I  wish  also  in  the  very  middle  a  fair  mount 
with  three  ascents  and  alleys,  enough  for  four  to 
walk  abreast,  which  I  would  have  to  be  perfect 
circles  without  any  bulwarks  or  embossments,  and 
the  whole  mount  to  be  thirty  foot  high;  and  some 
fine  banqueting-house  with  some  chimneys  neatly 
cast  and  without  too  much  glass. 

"As  for  the  making  of  knots,  or  figures,  with  divers 
colored  earths  that  they  may  lie  under  the  windows 
of  the  house,  on  that  side  which  the  garden  stands, 
they  be  but  toys.  You  may  see  as  good  sights  many 
times  in  tarts." 

Fountains  Bacon  considered  "a  great  beauty  and 


64        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

refreshment,"  but  he  did  not  care  for  pools,  nor  did 
he  favor  aviaries  "unless  they  were  large  enough  to 
have  living  plants  and  bushes  set  in  them  and  supply 
natural  nesting  for  the  birds." 

We  have  already  seen  that  Bacon  was  very  choice 
regarding  "the  flowers  that  best  perfume  the  air"; 
and  he  felt  it  was  very  essential  that  people  should 
know  what  to  plant  for  the  different  seasons.  So 
he  tells  us : 

"There  ought  to  be  gardens  for  all  months  of  the 
year,  in  which,  severally,  things  of  beauty  may  be 
in  season.  For  December  and  January  and  the  lat- 
ter part  of  November,  you  must  take  such  things  as 
are  green  all  winter:  holly,  ivy,  bays,  juniper, 
cypress-trees,  yew,  pine,  apple-trees,  fir-trees,  rose- 
mary, lavender,  periwinkle,  the  white,  the  purple, 
and  the  blue ;  germander,  flags ;  orange-trees,  lemon- 
trees  and  myrtle,  if  they  be  stoved;  and  sweet 
marjoram  warm  set.  There  followeth  for  the  lat- 
ter part  of  January  and  February,  the  mezerion  tree 
which  then  blossoms;  crocus  vernus,  both  the  yel- 
low and  the  gray;  primroses,  anemones,  the  early 
tulip,  hyacinthus  orientalis,  chamaires  fritellaria. 
For  March  there  come  violets,  especially  the  single 
blue,  which  are  the  earliest,  the  yellow  daffodil,  the 
daisy,  the  almond-tree  in  blossom,  the  peach-tree  in 


LABYRINTH,    VREDEMAN    DE    VRIES 


"A   CURIOUS-KNOTTED   GARDEN" — CRISPIN  DE   PASSE    (1614) 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"      6; 

blossom,  the  cornelian  tree  in  blossom,  sweetbrier. 
In  April  follow  the  double  white  violet,  the  wall- 
flower, the  stock  gilliflower,  the  cowslip,  flower- 
de-luces,  and  lilies  of  all  natures,  rosemary  flowers, 
the  tulip,  the  double  peony,  the  pale  daffodil,  the 
French  honeysuckle,  the  cherry-tree  in  blossom,  the 
damson  and  plum-trees  in  blossom,  the  white  thorn 
in  leaf,  the  lilac  tree.  In  May  and  June  come  pinks 
of  all  sorts,  roses  of  all  kinds  except  the  musk,  which 
comes  later,  honeysuckles,  strawberries,  bugloss, 
columbine,  the  French  marigold  (Flos  Africanus), 
cherry-tree  in  fruit,  ribes,  figs  in  fruit,  rasps,  vine- 
flowers,  lavender  in  flowers,  the  sweet  satyrian,  with 
the  white  flower,  herba  muse  aria,  lilium  convallium, 
the  apple-tree  in  blossom.  In  July  come  gilliflowers 
of  all  varieties,  musk-roses,  the  lime  tree  in  blossom, 
early  pears  and  plums  in  fruit,  gennitings,  quodlins. 
In  August  come  plums  of  all  sorts  in  fruit,  pears, 
apricots,  barberries,  filberts,  musk-melons,  monks- 
hood  of  all  colors.  In  September  come  grapes, 
apples,  poppies  of  all  colors,  peaches,  melocotones, 
nectarines,  cornelians,  wardens,  quinces.  In  Octo- 
ber and  the  beginning  of  November  come  services, 
medlars,  bullaces,  roses  cut,  or  removed  to  come  late, 
hollyhocks  and  such  like.  These  particulars  are  for 
the  climate  of  London ;  but  my  meaning  is  perceived 


66        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

that  you  may  have  ver  perfetuum,  as  the  place 
affords." 

Gardening  was  a  serious  business.  The  duties 
of  gardeners  were  not  light.  We  are  told  that 
"Gardeners  should  not  only  be  diligent  and  painful, 
but  also  experienced  and  skilful ;  at  the  least,  one  of 
them  to  have  seen  the  fine  gardens  about  London 
and  in  Kent;  to  be  able  to  cast  out  the  Quarters  of 
the  garden  as  may  be  most  convenient  that  the 
Walks  and  the  Alleys  be  long  and  large;  to  cast 
up  Mounts,  to  tread  out  Knots  in  the  Quarters  of 
arms  and  fine  devices,  to  set  and  sow  in  them  sweet- 
smelling  flowers  and  strewing  herbs;  to  have  in  the 
finest  parts  of  the  garden  Artichokes,  Pompions, 
Melons,  Cucumbers  and  such-like;  in  other  places 
convenient  Radishes,  Keritts,  Carrats  and  other 
roots  with  store  of  all  kind  of  herbs  for  the  Kitchen 
and  Apothecary;  to  know  what  Flowers  and  Herbs 
will  best  endure  the  Sun  and  which  need  most  to  be 
shaded :  in  like  sort,  for  the  East  and  North  winds, 
not  only  to  be  skilful  in  planting  and  grafting  of 
all  kinds  of  fruit-trees,  but  also  how  to  place  them 
in  best  order;  and  to  be  able  to  judge  of  the  best 
times  and  seasons  to  plant  and  graft  all  fruits  and 
to  set  and  sow  all  flowers,  herbs  and  roots;  and 
also  the  best  time  when  to  cut  and  gather  all  herbs 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"      67 

and  seeds  and  fruits,  and  in  what  sort  to  keep  and 
preserve  them;  to  make  fair  Bowling  Alleys  well 
banked  and  sealed,  which,  being  well  kept,  in  many 
houses  are  very  profitable  to  the  gardeners." 

The  instructions  in  the  Elizabethan  manuals  for 
grafting,  pleaching,  and  plashing  (see  page  50)  are 
most  explicit  and  elaborate.  There  are  rules  for  the 
care  of  every  flower  and  herb.  Nothing  is  too  small 
for  attention.  The  old  authors  even  say  what  flowers 
should  be  picked  often  and  what  flowers  prefer  to 
be  let  alone.  One  old  gardener  gives  the  following 
details  with  regard  to  the  sowing  of  seeds: 

"If  you  will  [he  writes],  you  may  sow  your  seeds 
in  rows,  or  trails,  either  round  about  the  edges  of 
your  beds  to  keep  them  in  fashion,  and  plant  either 
herbs  or  flowers  in  the  body  of  your  beds,  or  you 
may  furnish  your  beds  all  over,  making  three,  four, 
or  five  rows,  or  trails,  according  to  the  bigness  of 
your  bed ;  the  order,  or  manner,  is  to  make  each  trail 
of  like  distance  and  range  your  line  and  by  it,  either 
with  your  finger  or  a  small  stick,  to  make  your  trail 
about  an  inch  thick,  or  thereabout;  and  therein,  to 
sow  your  seed,  not  over-thick.  If  you  put  your 
seeds  in  a  white  paper,  you  may  (if  the  seeds  are 
small)  very  easily  and  equally  sow  them  by  shaking 
the  lower  end  of  your  paper  with  the  forefinger  of 


68        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

that  hand  you  sow  with.  The  paper  must  not  be 
much  open  at  the  end.  Then  with  your  hand,  or  a 
trowel,  to  smooth  the  earth  into  each  trail." 

Ill 

Old  Garden  Authors 

The  books  from  which  both  professional  and 
amateur  gardeners  gained  their  instruction  are  full 
of  delightful  information,  and  to  us  are  quaintly 
expressed.  Many  of  them  were  standard  authori- 
ties for  several  generations  and  went  through  vari- 
ous editions,  which,  as  time  went  on,  were  touched 
up  by  a  more  recent  authority.  One  of  these  well- 
known  garden  authors  was  Thomas  Hill,  who  wrote 
under  the  peculiar  name  of  Didymus  Mountain ;  an- 
other was  Gervase  Markham  whose  "Country 
Farm,"  published  in  London  in  1616  (the  year  of 
Shakespeare's  death),  often  passes  for  an  original 
work.  "The  Country  Farm,"  however,  was  an 
earlier  book,  and  a  French  one  at  that,  called  "La 
Maison  Rustique,"  published  in  Paris  in  1600  by 
Charles  Stevens  and  John  Liebault,  "doctors  of 
physicke."  This  was  translated  into  English  very 
soon  after  its  appearance  by  Richard  Surflet  and 
published  under  the  title  of  "The  Country  Farm." 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"       69 

It  became  an  extremely  popular  book  before  Gervase 
Markham  took  hold  of  it.  Markham  became  a  great 
authority  on  all  garden  topics  and  wrote  and 
adapted  many  books  on  the  subject.  From  his  edi- 
tion of  "The  Country  Farm"  we  learn  that 

"It  is  a  commendable  and  seemly  thing  to  behold 
out  at  a  window  many  acres  of  ground  well-tilled 
and  husbanded;  but  yet  it  is  much  more  to  behold 
fair  and  comely  proportions,  handsome  and  pleas- 
ant arbors,  and,  as  it  were,  closets,  delightful  bor- 
ders of  lavender,  rosemary,  box  and  other  such- 
like ;  to  hear  the  ravishing  music  of  an  infinite  num- 
ber of  pretty,  small  birds,  which  continually,  day 
and  night,  do  chatter  and  chant  their  proper  and 
natural  branch-songs  upon  the  hedges  and  trees  of 
the  garden ;  and  to  smell  so  sweet  a  nosegay  so  near 
at  hand,  seeing  that  this  so  fragrant  a  smell  cannot 
but  refresh  the  lord  of  the  farm  exceedingly  when 
going  out  of  his  bedchamber  in  the  morning  after 
sunrise;  and  while  as  yet  the  clear  and  pearl-like 
dew  doth  perch  on  to  the  grass  he  giveth  himself  to 
hear  the  melodious  music  of  the  bees  which  do  fill 
the  air  with  a  most  acceptable  sweet  and  pleasant 
harmony. 

"Now  for  the  general  proportion  of  gardens. 
They  may  at  your  pleasure  carry  any  of  these  four 


yo        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

shapes :  that  is  to  say,  either  square,  round,  oval,  or 
diamond.  This  is  but  the  outward  proportion,  or 
the  verge  and  girdle  of  your  garden.  As  for  the  in- 
ward proportions  and  shapes  of  the  Quarters,  Beds, 
Banks,  Mounts  and  such-like,  they  are  to  be  divided 
by  Alleys,  Hedges,  Borders,  Rails,  Pillars  and  such- 
like; and  by  these  you  may  draw  your  garden  unto 
what  form  you  please,  not  respecting  whatsoever 
shape  the  outward  verge  carrieth.  For  you  may 
make  that  garden  which  is  square  without  to  be 
round  within,  and  that  which  is  round,  either  square, 
or  oval;  that  which  is  oval,  either  of  the  former, 
and  that  which  is  diamond  any  shape  at  all, — and 
yet  all  exceedingly  comely.  You  may  also,  if  your 
ground  be  naturally  so  situated,  or  if  your  industry 
please  so  to  bring  it  to  pass,  make  your  garden  rise 
and  mount  by  several  degrees,  one  level  ascending 
above  another,  in  such  sort  as  if  you  had  divers  gar- 
dens one  above  another,  which  is  exceedingly  beauti- 
ful to  the  eye  and  very  beneficial  to  your  flowers  and 
fruit-trees,  especially  if  such  ascents  have  the  benefit 
of  the  Sun  rising  upon  them ;  and  thus,  if  you  please, 
you  may  have  in  one  level  a  square  plot ;  in  another, 
a  round;  in  a  third  a  diamond;  and  in  a  fourth,  an 
oval;  then  amongst  the  ascending  banks,  which  are 
on  either  side  the  stairs,  you  mount  into  your  several 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"       71 

gardens,  you  shall  make  your  physic  garden  or  places 
to  plant  your  physic  herbs." 

We  also  learn  from  "The  Country  Farm"  that 
"The  Garden  of  Pleasure  shall  be  set  about  and 
compassed  with  arbors  made  of  jessamin,  rosemarie, 
box,  juniper,  cypress-trees,  savin,  cedars,  rose-trees 
and  other  dainties  first  planted  and  pruned  accord- 
ing as  the  nature  of  every  one  doth  require,  but  after 
brought  into  some  form  and  order  with  willow  or 
juniper  poles,  such  as  may  serve  for  the  making  of 
arbors.  The  ways  and  alleys  must  be  covered  and 
sown  with  fine  sand  well  beat,  or  with  the  powder 
of  the  sawing  of  marble,  or  else  paved  handsomely 
with  good  pit  stone. 

"This  garden,  by  means  of  a  large  path  of  the 
breadth  of  six  feet,  shall  be  divided  into  two  equal 
parts;  the  one  shall  contain  the  herbs  and  flowers 
used  to  niake  nosegays  and  garlands  of,  as  March 
violets,  Provence  gilliflowers,  purple  gilliflowers,  In- 
dian gilliflowers,  small  pansies,  daisies,  yellow  and 
white  gilliflowers,  marigolds,  lily  connally,1  daffo- 
dils, Canterbury  bells,  purple  velvet  flowers,  ane- 
mones, corn-flag,2  mugwort,  lilies  and  other  such- 
like; and  it  may  be  indeed  the  Nosegay  Garden. 

1  Lily-of-the-valley. 
a  Gladiolus. 


72         THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

"The  other  part  shall  have  all  other  sweet-smell- 
ing herbs  whether  they  be  such  as  bear  no  flowers,  or, 
if  they  bear  any,  yet  they  are  not  put  in  nosegays 
alone,  but  the  whole  herb  be  with  them,  as  Southern- 
wood, wormwood,  pellitory,  rosemary,  jessamine, 
marierom,  balm-mints,  pennyroyal,  costmarie, 
hyssop,  lavender,  basil,  sage,  savory,  rue,  tansy, 
thyme,  camomile,  mugwort,  bastard  marierum, 
nept,  sweet  balm,  all-good,  anis,  horehound  and 
others  such-like;  and  this  may  be  called  the  garden 
for  herbs  and  good  smell. 

"These  sweet  herbs  and  flowers  for  nosegays  shall 
be  set  in  order  upon  beds  and  quarters  of  such-like 
length  and  breadth  as  those  of  the  kitchen  garden; 
others  in  mazes  made  for  the  pleasing  and  recreating 
of  the  sight,  and  other  some  are  Snt'  in  proportions 
made  of  beds  interlaced  and  drawn  one  within  an- 
other or  broken  off  with  borders,  or  without  borders." 

This  arrangement  is  interesting  as  not  only  show- 
ing the  division  of  flower-beds  but  that  certain  herbs 
were  used  in  nosegays.  It  did  not,  therefore,  strike 
Shakespeare's  audiences  as  strange  that  Perdita 
offered  to  her  guests  rosemary  and  rue  on  an  equality 
with  marigolds,  violets,  the  crown-imperial  (then 
so  rare),  daffodils,  and  lilies  of  all  kinds. 

In  William  Lawson's  "A  New  Orchard  and  Gar- 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"      73 

den,"  which  also  appeared  about  the  time  of  Shake- 
speare's death,  the  gardens  of  the  period  are  per- 
fectly described.  Lawson  was  a  practical  gardener 
and  had  a  poetic  appreciation  of  flowers  and  trees. 
His  book  was  long  an  authority.  Every  one  had  it. 
Lawson  writes  quaintly  and  delightfully: 

"The  Rose,  red,  damask,  velvet  and  double- 
double,  Provence  rose,  the  sweet  musk  Rose  double 
and  single,  the  double  and  single  white  Rose,, the 
fair  and  sweet-scenting  Woodbine  double  and  single 
and  double-double,  purple  Cowslips  and  double- 
double  Cowslips,  Primrose  double  and  single,  the 
Violet  nothing  behind  the  best  for  smelling  sweetly 
and  a  thousand  more  will  provoke  your  content. 

"And  all  these  by  the  skill  of  your  gardener,  so 
comely  and  orderly  placed  in  your  borders  and 
squares  and  so  intermingled  that  none  looking  there- 
on cannot  but  wonder  to  see  what  Nature  corrected 
by  Art  can  do. 

"When  you  behold  in  divers  corners  of  your 
Orchard  Mounts  of  stone,  or  wood,  curiously 
wrought  within  and  without,  or  of  earth  covered 
with  fruit-trees:  Kentish  cherry,  damsons,  plums, 
etc.,  with  stairs  of  precious  workmanship;  and  in 
some  corner  a  true  Dial  or  Clock  and  some  antique 
works  and  especially  silver-sounding  music — mixt 


74        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

Instruments  and  Voices — gracing  all  the  rest — how 
will  you  be  rapt  with  delight ! 

"Large  walks,  broad  and  long,  close  and  open, 
like  the  Tempe  groves  in  Thessaly,  raised  with 
gravel  and  sand,  having  seats  and  banks  of  Camo- 
mile,— all  this  delights  the  mind  and  brings  health 
to  the  body.  Your  borders  on  every  side  hanging 
and  drooping  with  Raspberries,  Barberries  and  Cur- 
rants and  the  roots  of  your  trees  powdered  with 
strawberries — red,  white  and  green, — what  a  pleas- 
ure is  this! 

"Your  gardener  can  frame  your  lesser  wood 
(shrubs)  to  the  shape  of  men  armed  in  the  field 
ready  to  give  battle,  or  swift-running  greyhounds, 
or  of  well-scented  and  true  running  hounds  to  chase 
the  deer  or  hunt  the  hare.  This  kind  of  hunting 
shall  not  waste  your  corn  nor  much  your  coin. 

"Mazes,  well  formed,  a  man's  height,  may,  per- 
haps, make  your  friend  wander  in  gathering  of 
berries  till  he  cannot  recover  himself  without  your 
help. 

"To  have  occasion  to  exercise  within  your 
Orchard,  it  shall  be  a  pleasure  to  have  a  Bowling- 
Alley. 

"Rosemary  and  sweet  Eglantine  are  seemly  orna- 
ments about  a  door,  or  window ;  so  is  Woodbine. 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"      75 

"One  chief  grace  that  adorns  an  Orchard  I  can- 
not let  slip.  A  brood  of  nightingales,  who  with  their 
several  notes  and  tunes  with  a  strong,  delightsome 
voice  out  of  a  weak  body,  will  bear  you  company, 
night  and  day.  She  will  help  you  cleanse  your  trees 
of  caterpillars  and  all  noisome  worms  and  flies.  The 
gentle  Robin  Redbreast  will  help  her  and  in  Winter 
in  the  coldest  storms  will  keep  a  part.  Neither  will 
the  silly  Wren  be  behind  in  summer  with  her  dis- 
tinct whistle  (like  a  sweet  Recorder)  *  to  cheer  your 
spirits.  The  Blackbird  and  Throstle  (for  I  take  it 
the  Thrush  sings  not  but  devours)  sing  loudly  on  a 
May  morning  and  delight  the  ear  much  (and  you 
need  not  want  their  company  if  you  have  ripe  Cher- 
ries or  Berries)  and  would  gladly,  as  the  rest,  do  you 
pleasure.  But  I  had  rather  want  their  company  than 
my  fruit. 

"What  shall  I  say?  A  thousand  of  delights  are 
in  an  Orchard." 

Parkinson  endeavors  in  the  kindliest  way  to  help 
the  amateur.  He  is  genuinely  desirous  to  encour- 
age gardening  and  offers  his  knowledge  and  experi- 
ence with  bounteous  generosity.  He  has  no  prefer- 
ence regarding  site.  He  says : 

"According  to  the  situations  of  men's  dwellings, 

*A  kind  of  flute.     See  "Hamlet";  Act  II,  Scene  II. 


76        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

so  are  the  situations  of  their  gardens.  And,  although 
divers  do  diversely  prefer  their  own  several  places 
which  they  have  chosen,  or  wherein  they  dwell;  as 
some  those  places  that  are  near  unto  a  river  or  brook 
to  be  best  for  the  pleasantness  of  the  water,  the  ease 
of  transportation  of  themselves,  their  friends  and 
goods,  as  also  for  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  which  is 
seldom  near  unto  a  river's  side;  and  others  extol  the 
side  or  top  of  an  hill,  be  it  small  or  great,  for  the 
prospect's  sake.  And  again,  some  the  plain  or  cham- 
pian  ground  for  the  even  level  thereof.  Yet  to  show 
you  for  every  of  these  situations  which  is  the  fittest 
place  to  plant  your  garden  in  and  how  to  defend 
it  from  the  injuries  of  the  cold  winds  and  frosts  that 
may  annoy  it,  I  hope  be  well  accepted. 

"To  prescribe  one  form  for  every  man  to  follow 
were  too  great  presumption  and  folly ;  for  every  man 
will  please  his  own  fancy,  be  it  orbicular  or  round, 
triangular  or  three-square,  quadrangular  or  four- 
square, or  more  long  than  broad.  Let  every  man 
choose  which  him  liketh  best.  The  four-square  form 
is  the  most  usually  accepted  with  all  and  doth  best 
agree  to  any  man's  dwelling.  To  form  it  therefore 
with  walks  cross  the  middle  both  ways  and  round 
about  it  also  with  hedges,  knots  or  trayles,  or  any 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"      77 

other  work  within  the  four-square  parts  is  according 
to  every  man's  conceit.  For  there  may  be  therein 
walls  either  open  or  close,  either  public  or  private, 
a  maze  or  wilderness,  a  rock  or  mount  with  a  foun- 
tain in  the  midst  to  convey  water  to  every  part  of 
the  garden  either  in  pipes  under  the  ground,  or 
brought  by  hand  and  emptied  in'.c  large  cisterns  or 
great  Turkey  jars  placed  in  convenient  places, 
Arbors  also  being  both  graceful  and  necessary  may 
be  appointed  in  such  convenient  places  as  the  cor- 
ners, or  elsewhere,  as  may  be  most  fit  to  serve  both 
for  shadow  and  rest  after  walking. 

"To  border  the  whole  square  to  serve  as  a  hedge 
thereunto  everyone  taketh  what  liketh  him  best,  as 
either  privet  alone,  or  sweetbriar  and  whitethorn 
enlaced  together  and  roses  of  one,  or  two,  or  more 
sorts,  placed  here  and  there  amongst  them.  Some 
also  take  lavender,  rosemary,  sage,  southernwood, 
lavender-cotton,  or  some  such  thing.  Some  again 
plant  Cornell  trees  and  plash  them,  or  keep  them  low 
to  form  into  a  hedge.  And  some  again  take  a  low 
prickly  shrub  that  abideth  always  green  called  in 
Latin  Pyracantha,  which  in  time  will  make  an  ever- 
green hedging,  or  border,  and  when  it  beareth  fruit, 
which  are  red  berries  like  unto  hawthorn  berries, 


78        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

make  a  glorious  show  among  the  green  leaves  in 
winter  time  when  no  other  shrubs  have  fruit,  or 
leaves." 

For  the  borders  of  the  knots,  Parkinson  recom- 
mends thrift,  hyssop  and  germander,  but  "chiefly 
above  all  herbs  the  small  low,  or  dwarf  French  or 
Dutch  box,  because  it  is  evergreen,  thick  and  easily 
cut  and  formed." 

Roses,  he  says,  should  be  planted  in  "the  outer 
borders  of  the  quarters,  or  in  the  middle  of  the  long 
beds" ;  and  lilies  should  be  placed  in  a  "small,  round 
or  square  in  a  knot  without  any  tall  flowers  growing 
about  them." 

IV 

"Outlandish"  and  English  Flowers 

The  flowers  for  the  knots,  or  beds,  Parkinson  di- 
vides into  two  classes:  the  "Outlandish  flowers"  and 
the  "English  flowers." 

Of  the  outlandish  flowers  first  of  all  he  mentions 
daffodils,  of  which  there  were  "almost  a  hundred 
sorts,  some  either  white,  or  yellow,  or  mixed,  or 
else  being  small  or  great,  single  or  double,  and  some 
having  but  one  flower  on  a  stalk;  others,  many." 
Other  daffodils  were  so  exceedingly  sweet  that  a 
very  few  were  sufficient  to  perfume  a  whole  cham- 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"      79 

ber:  the  "single  English  Bastard  daffodil,  which 
groweth  wild  in  many  woods,  groves  and  orchards 
in  England ;  the  double  English  Bastard,  the  French 
single  white,  the  French  double  yellow,  the  Spanish 
yellow  Bastard,  the  great  or  little  Spanish  white, 
and  the  Turkic  single  white  Daffodil  are  some  of 
the  varieties  Parkinson  mentions.  Then  of  the 
Fritillaria  or  the  "checkerd  Daffodil"  Parkinson 
gives  "half  a  score,  several  sorts,  both  white  and 
red,  both  yellow  and  black,  which  are  a  wonderful 
grace  and  ornament  in  a  garden  in  regard  of  the 
checker-like  spots  in  the  flower." 

Hyacinths  in  Parkinson's  book  are  about  "half  a 
hundred  sorts:  some  like  unto  little  bells  or  stars, 
others  like  unto  little  bottles  or  pearls,  both  white 
and  blue,  sky  colored  and  blush,  and  some  star-like 
of  many  pretty  various  forms  and  all  to  give  delight 
to  them  that  will  be  curious  to  observe  them." 

Shakespeare  does  not  mention  hyacinths. 

Of  crocus,  or  saffron  flowers,  there  were  twenty 
sorts,  some  flowering  in  the  spring,  others  in  the 
autumn,  but  all  of  "glorious  beauty." 

Of  lilies  there  were  "twenty  several  sorts  and 
colors,"  among  which  the  Crown  Imperial,  "for  her 
stately  form  deserveth  some  special  place  in  the 
garden,  as  also  the  Martagons,  both  white  and  red, 


8o        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

both  blush  and  yellow,  that  require  to  be  set  by 
themselves  apart." 

Tulips  (which  are  never  mentioned  by  Shake- 
speare) were  so  many  and  various  that  Parkinson 
considered  it  beyond  his  ability  to  describe  them  all 
"for  there  is  such  a  wonderful  variety  and  mixture 
of  colors  that  it  is  almost  impossible  for  the  wit  of 
man  to  decipher  them  and  to  give  names,"  and  he 
added  that  "for  every  one  that  he  might  name  ten 
others  would  probably  spring  up  somewhere"  and 
"besides  this  glory  of  variety  in  colors  that  these 
flowers  have,  they  carry  so  stately  and  delightful  a 
form  and  do  abide  so  long  in  their  bravery,  there  is 
no  lady  or  gentlewoman  of  any  worth  that  is  not 
caught  with  this  delight,  or  not  delighted  with  these 
flowers." 

Then  the  anemones,  or  windflowers,  "so  full  of 
variety,  so  dainty,  so  pleasant  and  so  delightsome, 
so  plentiful  in  bearing  and  durable,"  he  tells  us 
were  great  favorites. 

Then  the  bear's-ears,1  or  French  cowslips,  each 
one  "seeming  to  be  a  nosegay  of  itself  alone"  and 
of  so  many  colors  as  "white,  yellow,  blush,  purple, 
red,  tawny,  murray,  hair  color  and  so  on"  and  "not 

1  Auriculas. 


'THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"       81 

f  unfurnished  with  a  pretty  sweet  scent,  which  doth 
add  an  increase  of  pleasure  in  those  that  make  them 
an  ornament  for  wearing." 

Flower-de-luces  also  of  many  sorts,  one  kind 
"being  the  Orris  roots  that  are  sold  at  the  Apothe- 
caries whereof  sweet  powders  are  made  to  lie  among 
garments"  and  "the  greater  Flag  kind  frequent 
enough  in  this  land"  and  which  "well  doth  serve 
to  deck  up  both  garden  and  house  with  Nature's 
beauties." 

Chief  of  all  was  "Your  Sable  Flower,  so  fit  for 
a  mourning  habit  that  I  think  in  the  whole  compass 
of  Nature's  store  there*  is  not  a  more  pathetical." 

The  hepatica,  or  noble  liverwort,  white,  red,  blue, 
or  purple,  somewhat  resembling  violets;  the 
cyclamen,  or  sow-bread,  a  "flower  of  rare  receipt 
with  flowers  like  unto  red,  or  blush-colored  violets 
and  leaves  having  no  small  delight  in  their  pleasant 
color,  being  spotted  and  circled  white  upon  green" ; 
the  Leucoinum,  or  bulbous  violet;  Muscari,  or  musk 
grape  flower ;  star-flowers  of  different  sorts ;  Phalan- 
gium,  or  spiderwort;  winter  crowfoot,  or  wolfsbane; 
the  Christmas  flower,  "like  unto  a  single  white 
rose";  bell-flowers  of  many  kinds;  yellow  larkspur,1 

1  Nasturtium. 


82        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

"the  prettiest  flower  of  a  score  in  the  garden ;  flower 
gentle,  or  Floramour ;  Flower-of-the-Sun ; l  the  Mar- 
vel of  Peru,  or  of  the  World;  double  marsh  mari- 
gold, or  double  yellow  buttons ;  double  French  mari- 
golds; and  the  double  red  Ranunculus,  or  crowfoot, 
"for  exceeding  the  most  glorious  double  anemone," 
completes  Parkinson's  list  for  flowers  to  be  planted 
in  the  beds.  The  jasmine,  white  and  yellow;  the 
double  honeysuckle  and  the  lady's-bower  (clematis), 
both  white,  and  red  and  purple,  single  and  double 
are  "the  fittest  of  Outlandish  plants  to  set  by  arbors 
and  banqueting-houses 2  that  are  open  both  before 
and  above,  to  help  to  cover  them  and  to  give  sight, 
smell  and  delight." 

Parkinson  has  not  quite  finished,  however,  with 
the  outlandish  flowers  for  he  calls  attention  to  the 
cherry  bay,  or  Laurocerasus,  saying  that  "the  Rose 
Bay,  or  Oleander,  and  the  white  and  blue  Syringa, 
or  Pipe  Tree,3  are  all  graceful  and  delightful  to 
set  at  several  distances  in  the  borders  of  knots,  for 
some  of  them  give  beautiful  and  sweet  flowers." 

Furthermore  Parkinson  writes  that  "the  Pyra- 

1  Sunflower. 

2  The  banqueting-house  does  not  signify  a  place  for  great  enter- 
tainments.    It   was   a   simple   summer-house,   or    arbor,    to   which 
people  repaired  after  dinner  to  eat  the  dessert,  then  called  "ban- 
quet." 

3  Lilac-tree. 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"      83 

cantha,  or  Prickly  Coral  Tree,  doth  remain  with 
green  leaves  all  the  year  and  may  be  plashed,  or 
laid  down,  or  tyed  to  make  up  a  fine  hedge  to  border 
the  whole  knot"  and  that  "the  Dwarf  Bay,  or 
Mezereon,  is  most  commonly  either  placed  in  the 
middle  of  a  knot,  or  at  the  corners  thereof,  and 
sometimes  all  along  a  walk  for  the  more  grace." 

So  much  for  the  "outlandish"  flowers! 

Turning  now  to  the  "English  flowers,"  we  find 
that  Parkinson  includes  primroses  and  cowslips, 
single  rose  campions,  white,  red,  and  blush  and  the 
double  red  campion  and  the  Flower  of  Bristow,  or 
Nonesuch,  "a  kind  of  Campion,  white  and  blush  as 
well  as  orange-color."  And  here  Parkinson  stops  a 
moment  to  talk  about  this  Nonesuch,  for  he  was  so 
fond  of  it  that  he  holds  it  in  his  hand  in  the  portrait 
that  appears  as  a  frontispiece  to  his  "Paradisus"  and 
from  which  our  reproduction  is  made.  Of  it  he 
writes:  "The  orange  color  Nonesuch  with  double 
flowers  as  is  rare  and  not  common  so  for  his  bravery 
doth  well  deserve  a  Master  of  account  that  will  take 
care  to  keep  and  preserve  it." 

Then  he  continues:  Bachelors'-buttons,  both 
white  and  red;  wall-flowers,  double  and  single; 
stock-gilliflowers,  queen's  gilliflowers  (which  some 
call  dame's  violets  and  some  winter  gilliflowers,  a 


84        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

kind  of  stock-gilliflower) ;  violets,  "the  spring's 
chief  flowers  for  beauty,  smell  and  use,"  both  single 
and  double;  snap-dragons,  "flowers  of  much  more 
delight";  columbines,  "single  and  double,  of  many 
sorts,  fashions  and  colors,  very  variable,  both 
speckled  and  parti-colored — no  garden  would  will- 
ingly be  without  them."  Next  "Larks'  heels,  or 
spurs,  or  toes,  as  they  are  called,  single  and  double" ; 
pansies,  or  heartsease,  of  divers  colors,  "although 
without  scent  yet  not  without  some  respect  and  de- 
light"; double  poppies  "adorning  a  garden  with 
their  variable  colors  to  the  delight  of  the  beholders" ; 
double  daisies,  "white  and  red,  blush  and  speckled 
and  parti-colored,  besides  that  which  is  called  Jack- 
an-Apes-on-Horseback,"  double  marigolds;  French 
marigolds  "that  have  a  strong,  heady  scent,  both 
single  and  double,  whose  glorious  show  for  color 
would  cause  any  to  believe  there  were  some  rare 
goodness  or  virtue  in  them ;  and  carnations  and  gilli- 
flowers." 

Here  again  Parkinson's  enthusiasm  causes  him  to 
pause,  for  he  exclaims: 

"But  what  shall  I  say  to  the  Queen  of  Delight 
and  of  Flowers,  Carnations  and  Gilliflowers,  whose 
bravery,  variety  and  sweet  smell  joined  together 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"       85 

tieth  every  one's  affection  with  great  earnestness 
both  to  like  and  to  have  them  9" 

Of  the  overwhelming  number  he  singles  out  the 
red  and  gray  Hulo,  the  old  carnation,  the  Grand 
Pere ;  the  Cambersive,  the  Savadge,  the  Chrystal,  the 
Prince,  the  white  carnation  or  delicate,  the  ground 
carnation,  the  French  carnation,  the  Dover,  the  Ox- 
ford, the  Bristow,  the  Westminster,  the  Daintie,  the 
Granado,  and  the  orange  tawny  gilliflower  and  its 
derivatives,  the  Infanta,  the  striped  tawny,  the 
speckled  tawny,  the  flaked  tawny,  the  Grifeld 
tawny,  and  many  others. 

Many  sweet  pinks  are  included,  "all  very  sweet 
coming  near  the  Gilliflowers,  Sweet  Williams  and 
Sweet  Johns,"  both  single  and  double,  red  and 
spotted,  "and  a  kind  of  wild  pinks,  which  for  their 
beauty  and  grace  help  to  furnish  a  garden."  Then, 
too,  we  have  peonies,  double  and  single ;  hollyhocks, 
single  and  double;  and  roses. 

The  Elizabethan  gardens,  therefore,  presented  a 
magnificent  array  of  flowers ;  and  it  was  not  only  in 
the  grand  gardens  of  castles  and  manor-houses,  but 
in  the  estates  of  London  merchants  along  the  Strand 
and  of  the  florists  in  Holborn,  Westminster,  and 
elsewhere  that  fine  flower  shows  were  to  be  enjoyed 


86        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

during  every  month  of  the  year.  In  the  country 
before  the  simple  dwellings  and  the  half-timbered 
and  thatched  cottages  bright  flowers  blossomed  in 
the  same  beauty  and  profusion  as  to-day. 

The  charming  cottage  garden  has  changed  little. 

Finally,  in  summing  up,  if  we  imagine  as  a  back- 
ground a  group  of  Tudor  buildings  in  the  Perpen- 
dicular style  of  architecture  of  red  brick  broken  with 
bay-windows  and  groups  of  quaint  chimneys  vari- 
ously ornamented  with  zigzag  and  other  curious 
lines,  gables  here  and  there — the  whole  faQade  rising 
above  a  terrace  with  broad  flights  of  steps — one  at 
the  middle  and  one  at  each  end — and  from  the  ter- 
race "forthrights"  and  paths  intersecting  and  in 
the  squares  formed  by  them  bright  beds  of  flowers 
so  arranged  that  the  colors  intermingle  and  blend 
so  as  to  produce  the  effect  of  a  rich  mosaic  and 
redolent  with  the  sweetest  perfumes  all  mingled 
with  particular  and  peculiar  care  and  art,  we  shall 
have  a  mental  picture  of  the  kind  of  garden  that 
lay  before  Olivia's  house  in  "Twelfth  Night,"  where 
Malvolio  parades  up  and  down  the  "forthrights," 
as  Shakespeare  distinctly  tells  us,  in  his  yellow 
cross-garters,  to  pick  up  the  letter  dropped  on  the 
path  by  Maria  while  the  rollicking  Sir  Toby  Belch, 
witless  Sir  Andrew  Aguecheek,  and  merry  Maria 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"      87 

watch  his  antics  from  their  hiding-place  in  the  box- 
tree,  or  hedge. 

Such  also  was  the  garden  at  Belmont,  Portia's 
stately  home,  in  which  Lorenzo  and  Jessica,  while 
waiting  for  their  mistress  on  that  moonlight  night 
"when  the  sweet  wind  did  gently  kiss  the  trees  and 
they  did  make  no  noise,"  voiced  their  ravishing  duet, 
"On  Such  a  Night." 

Such  also  was  the  garden  into  which  Romeo 
leaped  over  the  high  wall  to  sing  before  Juliet's 
window  a  song  that  in  her  opinion  was  far  sweeter 
than  that  of  the  nightingale  that  nightly  sang  in 
the  pomegranate-tree  by  her  balcony. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  wish  to  visualize 
Perdita's  garden — that  of  a  simple  shepherdess — 
we  must  imagine  a  tiny  cottage  enclosure  gay  and 
bright  with  blooms  of  many  hues,  arranged  in  simple 
beds  neatly  bordered  with  box  or  thrift,  but  where 
there  are  no  terraces,  forthrights,  or  ornamental 
vases,  urns  or  fountains.  This  little  cottage  garden 
is  the  kind  that  brightened  the  approach  to  Anne 
Hathaway' s  house  at  Shottery  and  Shakespeare's 
own  dwelling  at  Stratford. 

This  is  a  descendant,  as  we  have  seen,  of  the 
little  Garden  of  Delight,  the  Pleasance  of  the 
Medieval  castle.  The  simple  cottage  garden  is  the 


88        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

easier  of  the  two  to  reproduce  to-day.  Although  it 
only  occupies  a  small  corner  in  the  garden  proper, 
yet  all  the  flowers  mentioned  by  Shakespeare  can 
be  grown  in  it. 

In  rural  England  it  is  not  rare  to  come  across 
old  gardens  that  owed  their  existence  to  disciples 
of  Didymus  Mountain,  Markham,  Lawson,  and 
Parkinson — gardens  that  have  been  tended  for  three 
hundred  years  and  more  with  loving  care,  where 
the  blossoms  are  descendants  of  "outlandish"  im- 
portations of  Nicholas  Leate  and  Lord  Burleigh, 
and  of  simple  English  flowers.  These  gladden  the 
eyes  of  their  owners  to-day  as  the  original  flowers 
gladdened  the  eyes  of  those  who  planted  them. 
Generations  of  people  in  the  house  and  generations 
of  flowers  in  the  garden  thus  flourished  and  faded 
side  by  side  while  the  old  stock  put  forth  new  blos- 
soms in  both  house  and  garden  to  continue  the  family 
traditions  of  both  the  human  and  the  floral  world. 

A  typical  garden  dating  from  Shakespearean  times 
was  thus  described  a  few  years  ago  in  "The  Gentle- 
man's Magazine" : 

"In  all  England  one  could,  perhaps,  find  no 
lovelier  garden  than  that  of  T ,  an  old  manor- 
house,  sheltered  by  hill  and  bounded  by  the  moat, 
which  is  the  only  relic  of  the  former  feudal  castle. 


r 


"THE  CURIOUS  KNOTTED  GARDEN"      89 

The  tiled  roof,  the  gables  inlaid  with  oaken  beams, 
are  almost  hidden  by  fragrant  roses  and  jasmine 
flowers  that  shine  like  stars  against  their  darker 
foliage.  A  sun-dial  stands  in  the  square  of  lawn 
before  the  porch,  and  the  windows  to  your  right  open 
upon  a  yew-hedged  bowling-green.  Beyond,  the 
smooth  lawn  slopes  down  to  a  little  stream,  thick 
with  water-loving  reeds  and  yellow  flags;  and  lime- 
trees,  whose  fragrance  the  breeze  wafts  to  us,  sweep 
the  greensward  in  magnificent  curves.  If  you  turn 
to  the  left,  along  yonder  grassy  path  you  will  find 
yourself  between  borders  gorgeous  with  poppies  and 
sweet  william  and  hollyhocks  and  lilies  that  frame 
distances  of  blue  hills  and  clear  sky. 

"The  kitchen-garden  lies  through  that  gate  in 
the  wall  of  mellowed  brick — an  old-fashioned 
kitchen-garden,  with  mingled  fruit  and  vegetables 
and  flowers.  There  are  pear  and  plum-trees  against 
the  wall  and  strawberry  beds  next  the  feathery 
asparagus  and  gooseberry  bushes  hidden  by  hedges 
of  sweet  peas.  Another  turn  will  bring  you  into  a 
labyrinth  of  yew  hedges  and  so  back  to  the  bowling- 
green,  across  which  the  long  shadows  lie,  and  the 
sun-dial  which  marks  the  approach  of  evening.  The 
light  is  golden  on  the  house  and  on  the  tangled  bor- 
ders; the  air  is  fragrant  with  many  scents." 


PART  TWO 
THE  FLOWERS  OF  SHAKESPEARE 


"THE  SWEET  O'  THE  YEAR" 


Primroses,  Cowslips,  and  Oxlips 

PRIMROSE  (Primula  vulgaris).  English 
poets  have  always  regarded  the  primrose  as 
the  first  flower  of  spring  —  the  true  Flor  di 
prim  a  vera.  This  name  calls  to  mind  Botticelli's 
enchanting  Primevera  that  hangs  in  the  Uffizi,  in 
which  the  sward  is  dotted  with  spring  flowers  that 
seem  to  have  burst  into  blossom  beneath  the  foot- 
steps of  Venus  and  her  three  Graces  —  those  lovely 
ladies  of  the  Italian  Renaissance,  clad  in  light,  flut- 
tering draperies.  This  decorative  picture  expresses 
not  only  the  joy  and  beauty  of  newly-awakened 
spring,  but  something  much  deeper,  something  tKat 
the  painter  did  not  realize  himself;  and  this  was 
what  the  Italian  Renaissance  was  destined  to  mean 
to  all  the  world:  a  New  Birth  of  beauty  in  the 

93 


94        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

arts  and  a  new  era  of  human  sympathy  for  man- 
kind. 

Sandro  Botticelli,  whom  we  may  appropriately 
call  Flor  di  prima  vera  among  painters,  was  as  un- 
aware of  his  mission  in  art  as  the  primroses  that 
come  into  being  at  the  call  of  a  new  day  of  spring 
sunshine  from  a  long  dark  winter's  sleep  in  a  soil 
of  frozen  stiffness.  Something  of  the  tender  and 
wistful  beauty  of  early  spring — her  faint  dreams 
and  soft  twilights,  her  languid  afternoons  and  her 
veiled  nights,  when  pale  stars  tremble  through  gray 
mists  and  when  warm  rains  softly  kiss  the  drowsy 
earth — Botticelli  has  put  into  his  enchanting  spring 
idyl;  and  this  same  wistful,  half-drowsy,  and 
evanescent  beauty  is  characteristic  of  the  primrose. 

Primrose,  first  born  child  of  Ver, 
Merry  Springtime's  harbinger, 
With  her  bells  dim 

is  a  perfect  and  sympathetic  description  of  the  flower 
in  "The  Two  Noble  Kinsmen."  1 

Observe  that  the  bells  of  the  primrose  are  "dim" 
— pale  in  hue — because  the  earth  is  not  sufficiently 
awake  for  bright  colors  or  for  joyful  chimes — so 
the  color  is  faint  and  the  sound  is  delicate.  Trees 
are  now  timidly  putting  forth  tender  leaves,  buds 

'Act  I,  Scene  I. 


"THE  SWEET  O'  THE  YEAR"        95 

peer  cautiously  from  the  soil,  and  few  birds  sing; 
for  leaves,  buds,  and  birds  know  full  well  that  win- 
ter is  lurking  in  the  distance  and  that  rough  winds 
occasionally  issue  from  the  bag  of  Boreas.  The 
time  has  not  yet  come  for  "lisp  of  leaves  and  ripple 
of  rain"  and  for  choirs  of  feathered  songsters.  Yet 
all  the  more,  because  of  its  bold  daring  and  its 
modest  demeanor,  the  primrose  deserves  the  en- 
thusiastic welcome  it  has  always  received  from  poets 
and  flower  lovers. 

"The  primrose,"  writes  Dr.  Forbes  Watson, 
"seems  the  very  flower  of  delicacy  and  refinement; 
not  that  it  shrinks  from  our  notice,  for  few  plants  are 
more  easily  seen,  coming  as  it  does  when  there  is  a 
dearth  of  flowers,  when  the  first  birds  are  singing 
and  the  first  bees  humming  and  the  earliest  green 
putting  forth  in  the  March  and  April  woods.  And 
it  is  one  of  those  plants  which  dislikes  to  be  looking 
cheerless,  but  keeps  up  a  smouldering  fire  of  blossom 
from  the  very  opening  of  the  year,  if  the  weather 
will  permit. 

"The  flower  is  of  a  most  unusual  color,  a  pale, 
delicate  yellow,  slightly  tinged  with  green.  And  the 
better  flowers  impress  us  by  a  peculiar  paleness,  not 
dependent  upon  any  feebleness  of  hue,  which  we 
always  find  unpleasing,  but  rather  upon  the  exquisite 


96        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

softness  of  their  tone.  And  we  must  not  overlook 
the  little  round  stigma,  that  green  and  translucent 
gem,  which  forms  the  pupil  of  the  eye,  and  is  sur- 
rounded by  a  deeper  circle  of  orange  which  helps  it 
to  shine  forth  more  clearly.  Many  flowers  have  a 
somewhat  pensive  look;  but  in  the  pensiveness  of 
the  primrose  there  is  a  shade  of  melancholy — a 
melancholy  which  awakens  no  thought  of  sadness 
and  does  but  give  interest  to  the  pale,  sweet,  inquir- 
ing faces  which  the  plant  upturns  towards  us. 

"In  the  primrose,  as  a  whole,  we  cannot  help 
being  struck  by  an  exceeding  softness  and  delicacy; 
there  is  nothing  sharp,  strong,  or  incisive;  the  smell 
is  'the  faintest  and  most  ethereal  perfume/  as  Mrs. 
Stowe  has  called  it  in  her  'Sunny  Memories,'  though 
she  was  mistaken  in  saying  that  it  disappears  when 
we  pluck  the  flower.  It  is  meant  to  impress  us  as 
altogether  soft  and  yielding.  One  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful points  in  the  primrose  is  the  manner  in  which 
the  paleness  of  the  flowers  is  taken  up  by  the  herbage. 
This  paleness  seems  to  hang  about  the  plant  like  a 
mystery,  for  though  the  leaves  of  the  primrose  may 
at  times  show  a  trace  of  the  steady  paleness  of  the 
cowslip,  it  is  more  usually  confined  to  their  under- 
surfaces  and  the  white  flower-stalks  with  their  cloth- 
ing of  down.  And  when  we  are  looking  at  the  prim- 


"THE  SWEET  O'  THE  YEAR"        97 

rose  one  or  other  of  these  downy,  changeful  portions 
is  continually  coming  into  view,  so  that  we  get  a 
feeling  as  if  there  hung  about  the  whole  plant  a 
clothing  of  soft,  evanescent  mist,  thickening  about 
the  center  of  the  plant  and  the  undersurfaces  of  the 
leaves  which  are  less  exposed  to  the  sun.  And  then 
we  reach  one  of  the  main  expressions  of  the  prim- 
rose. When  we  look  at  the  pale,  sweet  flowers,  and 
the  soft-toned  green  of  the  herbage,  softened  further 
here  and  there  by  that  uncertain  mist  of  down,  the 
dryness  of  the  leaf  and  fur  enters  forcibly  into  our 
impression  of  the  plant,  giving  a  sense  of  extreme 
delicacy  and  need  of  shelter,  as  if  it  were  some 
gentle  creature  which  shrinks  from  exposure  to  the 
weather." 

The  Greeks  associated  the  idea  of  melancholy 
with  this  flower.  They  had  a  story  of  a  handsome 
youth,  son  of  Flora  and  Priapus,  whose  betrothed 
bride  died.  His  grief  was  so  excessive  that  he  died, 
too,  and  the  gods  than  changed  his  body  into  a  prim- 
rose. 

In  Shakespeare's  time,  the  primrose  was  also  asso- 
ciated with  early  death ;  and  it  is  one  of  the  flowers 
thrown  upon  the  corse  of  Fidele,  whose  lovely,  wist- 
ful face  is  compared  to  the  "pate  primrose."  Thus 
Arviragus  exclaims  as  he  gazes  on  the  beautiful 


98        THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

youth,  Fidele,  the  assumed  name  of  Imogen  in  dis- 
guise: 

I  '11  sweeten  thy  sad  grave :  thou  shalt  not  lack 
The  flower  that 's  like  thy  face,  pale  primrose.1 

Perdita,  in  "The  Winter's  Tale,"  2  mentions 

Pale  primroses  that  die  unmarried 

Ere  they  can  behold  bright  Phoebus  in  his  strength. 

Shakespeare  appreciated  the  delicate  hue  and  per- 
fume of  this  flower.  He  seems  to  be  alluding  to 
both  qualities  when  he  makes  Hermia  touch  Helena's 
memory  by  the  following  words : 

And  in  the  wood,  where  often  you  and  I 
Upon  faint  primrose  beds  were  wont  to  lie.3 

Other  English  poets  speak  of  the  flower  as  "the 
pale,"  or  "the  dim."     Milton  writes: 

Now  the  bright  star,  day's  harbinger 
Comes  dancing  from  the  East  and  leads  with  her 
The  flow'ry  May,  who,  from  her  green  lap,  throws 
The  yellow  cowslip  and  the  pale  primrose. 

And  again,  Thomas  Carew: 

Ask  me   why  I   send  you  here 
The  firstling  of  the  infant  year? 

1  "Cymbeline" ;  Act  IV,  Scene  II. 

'Act  IV,  Scene  III. 

8  "A  Midsummer  Night's  Dream";  Act  I,  Scene  I. 


'THE  SWEET  O'  THE  YEAR"        99 

Ask  me  why  I  send  to  you 

This  Primrose,  all  bepearled  with  dew? 

I  straight  whisper  in  your  ears: 

The  sweets  of  Love  are  wash'd  with  tears 

Ask  me  why   this  flower   doth   show 

So  yellow,  green  and  sickly,  too? 

Ask  me  why  the  stalk  is  weak 

And,  bending,  yet  it  doth  not  break? 

I  will  answer:  these  discover 

.What  doubts  and  fears  are  in  a  lover. 

The  English  primrose  is  one  of  a  large  family 
of  more  than  fifty  species,  represented  by  the  prim- 
rose, the  cowslip,  and  the  oxlip.  All  members  of 
this  family  are  noted  for  their  simple  beauty  and 
their  peculiar  charm. 

Parkinson  writes: 

"We  have  so  great  variety  of  Primroses  and 
Cowslips  in  our  country  breeding  that  strangers, 
being  much  delighted  with  them,  have  often  fur- 
nished into  divers  countries  to  their  good  content. 

"All  Primroses  bear  their  long  and  large,  broad 
yellowish-green  leaves  without  stalks  most  usually, 
and  all  the  Cowslips  have  small  stalks  under  the 
leaves,  which  are  smaller  and  of  a  darker  green.  The 
name  of  Primula  veris,  or  Primrose,  is  indifferently 
conferred  on  those  that  I  distinguish  for  Paralyses, 
or  Cowslips.  All  these  plants  are  called  most 


ioo       THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

usually  in  Latin  Primula  veris.  Primula  pretenses 
and  Primula  silvarum,  because  they  shew  by  their 
flowering  the  new  Spring  to  be  coming  on,  they 
being,  as  it  were,  the  first  Embassadors  thereof. 
They  have  also  divers  other  names,  as  Herba  Paraly- 
sis•,  Arthritica,  Herba  Sancti  Petri^  Claues  Sancti 
Petri^  Verbasculum  odoratum,  Lunaria  arthritic  a, 
Phlomis,  Alisma  silvarum  and  Alismatis  alterum 
genus.  Some  have  distinguished  them  by  calling 
the  Cowslips  Primula  Veris  Elatior,  that  is  the 
Taller  Primrose,  and  the  other  Humilis,  Low,  or 
Dwarf,  Primrose. 

"Primroses  and  Cowslips  are  in  a  manner  wholly 
used  in  Cephalicall  diseases  to  ease  pains  in  the 
head.  They  are  profitable  both  for  the  Palsy  and 
pains  of  the  joints,  even  as  the  Bears'  Ears  1  are, 
which  hath  caused  the  names  of  Arthritic  a  Paralysis 
and  Paralytic  a  to  be  given  them." 

Tusser  in  his  "Husbandry"  includes  the  prim- 
rose among  the  seeds  and  herbs  of  the  kitchen;  and 
Lyte  says  that  "the  cowslips,  primroses  and  oxlips 
are  now  used  daily  amongst  other  pot-herbs,  but  in 
physic  there  is  no  great  account  made  of  them." 
"The  old  name  was  Primerolles,"  Dr.  Prior  notes 
in  his  quaint  book  on  flowers.  "Primerole  as  an 

1  Auriculas. 


"THE  SWEET  O'  THE  YEAR"       101 

outlandish,  unintelligible  word  was  soon  familiar- 
ized into  Primerolles  and  this  into  Primrose."  The 
name  was  also  written  primrolles  and  finally  settled 
down  into  primrose.  Chaucer  wrote  primerole,  a 
name  derived  from  the  French  Primeverole,  mean- 
ing, like  the  Italian  Flor  di  prima  vera,  the  first 
spring  flower. 

COWSLIP  (Paralysis  vulgaris  pratensis).  The 
cowslip  is  an  ingratiating  little  flower,  not  so  aloof 
as  its  cousin  the  primrose,  and  not  at  all  melancholy. 
In  the  popular  lore  of  Shakespeare's  time  the  cow- 
slip was  associated  with  fairies.  In  many  places  it 
was  known  as  "fairy  cups."  For  this  reason  Shake- 
speare makes  Ariel  lie  in  a  cowslip's  bell  when  the 
fay  is  frightened  by  the  hooting  of  owls,  or  tired  of 
swinging  merrily  in  "the  blossom  that  hangs  on  the 
bough."  One  of  the  duties  of  Titania's  little  maid 
of  honor  was  "to  hang  a  pearl  in  every  cowslip's 
ear";  and  this  gay  little  fairy  informs  Puck  of  the 
important  place  cowslips  hold  in  the  court  of  the 
tiny  Queen  Titania: 

The  cowslips  tall  her  pensioners  be, 
In  their  gold  coats  spots  you  see: 
These   be   rubies,   fairy   favors, 
In  these  freckles  live  their  savors.1 

1  "A  Midsummer  Night's  Dream" ;  Act  II,  Scene  I. 


102       THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

To  appreciate  the  meaning  of  this  comparison,  it 
must  be  remembered  that  the  "pensioners"  of  Queen 
Elizabeth's  court  were  a  guard  of  the  tallest  and 
handsomest  men  to  be  found  in  the  whole  kingdom, 
men,  moreover,  who  were  in  the  pride  of  youth,  and 
scions  of  the  most  distinguished  families.  Their 
dress  was  of  extraordinary  elegance  and  enriched 
heavily  with  gold  embroidery.  Hence,  "gold  coats" 
for  the  cowslips.  Here  and  there  jewels  sparkled 
and  glistened  on  the  pensioners'  coats.  Hence 
rubies — fairy  favors — favors  from  the  Queen !  The 
pensioners  also  wore  pearls  in  their  ears,  like  Raleigh 
and  Leicester  and  other  noblemen.  Hence  the  fairy 
had  to  "hang  a  pearl  in  every  cowslip's  ear."  An 
idea,  too,  of  the  size  of  Titania  and  her  elves  is  given 
when  the  cowslips  are  considered  "tall,"  and  tall 
enough  to  be  the  body-guard  of  Queen  Titania. 
This  was  a  pretty  little  allusion  to  Queen  Elizabeth 
and  her  court,  which  the  audience  that  gathered  to 
see  the  first  representation  of  "A  Midsummer  Night's 
Dream"  did  not  fail  to  catch. 

We  get  a  sidelight  on  the  importance  of  the  pen- 
sioners in  "The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor"  1  when 
Dame  Quickly  tells  Fal staff  a  great  cock-and-bull 
story  about  the  visitors  who  have  called  on  Mistress 

1  Act  II,  Scene  II. 


"THE  SWEET  O'  THE  YEAR"       103 

Ford.  "There  have  been  knights  and  lords  and 
gentlemen  with  their  coaches,  letter  after  letter, 
gift  after  gift;  smelling  so  sweetly  (all  musk)  and 
so  nishling,  I  warrant  you  in  silk  and  gold ;  and  yet 
there  has  been  earls,  and,  what  is  more,  pensioners!" 
Shakespeare  also  speaks  of  "the  freckled  cowslip" 
in  "Henry  V,"  1  when  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  refers 

to 

The  even  mead,  that  erst  brought  sweetly  forth 
The  freckled  cowslip. 

All  poets  love  the  flower. 

In   the   language   wherewith   spring 
Letters  cowslips  on  the  hill, 

writes  Tennyson — a  charming  fancy! 

Sydney  Dobell  has  a  quaint  flower  song  contain- 
ing this  verse : 

Then  came  the  cowslip 

Like  a  dancer  in  the  fair, 

She  spread  her  little  mat  of  green 

And  on  it  danced  she, 

With  a  fillet  bound  about  her  brow, 

A  fillet  round  her  happy  brow, 

A  golden  fillet  round  her  brow, 

And  rubies  in  her  hair. 

Never  mind  if  country  dancers  rarely  wear  rubies ; 
the  idea  is  pretty  and  on  Shakespeare's  authority 

*Act  V,  Scene  II. 


104      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

we  know  that  rubies  do  gleam  in  the  cup  of  the  cow- 
slip, as  he  has  told  us  through  the  lips  of  the  fairy. 
With  great  appreciation  of  the  beauty  of  the 
flower  he  has  Jachimo's  description: 

Cinque-spotted  like  the  crimson  drops 
In  the  bottom  of  a  cowslip.1 

Most  sympathetically  did  Dr.  Forbes  Watson, 
when  lying  on  a  bed  of  fatal  illness,  put  into  words 
what  many  persons  have  felt  regarding  this  flower : 

"Few  of  our  wild  flowers  give  intenser  pleasure 
than  the  cowslip,  yet  perhaps  there  is  scarcely  any 
whose  peculiar  beauty  depends  so  much  upon  locality 
and  surroundings.  There  is  a  homely  simplicity 
about  the  cowslip,  much  like  that  of  the  daisy, 
though  more  pensive, — the  quiet,  sober  look  of  an 
unpretending  country  girl,  not  strikingly  beautiful 
in  feature  or  attire,  but  clean  and  fresh  as  if  new 
bathed  in  milk  and  carrying  us  away  to  thoughts  of 
daisies,  flocks  and  pasturage  and  the  manners  of  a 
simple,  primitive  time,  some  golden  age  of  shepherd- 
life  long  since  gone  by.  And  more;  in  looking  at 
the  cowslip  we  are  always  most  forcibly  struck  by 
its  apparent  wholesomeness  and  health.  This  whole- 
someness  is  quite  unmistakable.  It  belongs  even  to 

'"Cymbeline";  Act  II,  Scene  II. 


"THE  SWEET  O'  THE  YEAR"       105 

the  smell  so  widely  different  from  the  often  oppres- 
sive perfume  of  other  plants,  as  lilies,  narcissuses, 
or  violets.  Now  just  such  a  healthy  milk- fed  look, 
just  such  a  sweet,  healthy  odor  is  what  we  find  in 
cows — an  odor  which  breathes  around  them  as  they 
sit  at  rest  in  the  pasture.  The  'lips,'  of  course,  is 
but  a  general  resemblance  to  the  shape  of  the  petals 
and  suggests  the  source  of  the  fragrance.  The  cow- 
slip, as  we  have  said,  is  a  singularly  healthy-looking 
plant,  indeed,  nothing  about  it  is  more  remarkable. 
It  has  none  of  the  delicacy  and  timidity  of  the  prim- 
rose. All  its  characters  are  well  and  healthily  pro- 
nounced. The  paleness  is  uniform,  steady,  and 
rather  impresses  us  as  whiteness;  and  the  yellow  of 
the  cup  is  as  rich  as  gold.  The  odor  is  not  faint,  but 
saccharine  and  luscious.  It  does  not  shrink  into  the 
sheltered  covert,  but  courts  the  free  air  and  sun- 
shine of  the  open  fields;  and  instead  of  its  flowers 
peeping  timidly  from  behind  surrounding  leaves,  it 
raises  them  boldly  on  a  stout,  sufficient  stalk,  the 
most  conspicuous  object  in  the  meadow.  Its  poetry 
is  the  poetry  of  common  life,  but  of  the  most  de- 
licious common  life  that  can  exist.  The  plant  is  in 
some  respects  careless  to  the  verge  of  disorder;  and 
you  should  note  that  carelessness  well,  till  you  feel 
the  force  of  it,  as  especially  in  the  lame  imperfec- 


io6      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

tion  of  the  flower  buds,  only,  perhaps  half  of  them 
well  developed  and  the  rest  dangling  all  of  unequal 
lengths.  Essentially  the  cowslip  and  the  primrose 
are  only  the  same  plant  in  two  different  forms,  the 
one  being  convertible  into  the  other.  The  primrose 
is  the  cowslip  of  the  woods  and  sheltered  lanes;  the 
cowslip  is  the  primrose  of  the  fields." 

The  name  cowslip  is  not  derived  from  the  lips 
of  the  cow,  but,  according  to  Skeat,  the  great  Anglo- 
Saxon  authority,  it  comes  from  an  Anglo-Saxon  word 
meaning  dung  and  was  given  to  the  plant  because 
it  springs  up  in  meadows  where  cows  are  pastured. 

"The  common  field  Cowslip,"  says  Parkinson, 
"I  might  well  forbear  to  set  down,  being  so  plenti- 
ful in  the  fields;  but  because  many  take  delight  in 
it  and  plant  it  in  their  gardens,  I  will  give  you  the 
description  of  it  here.  It  hath  divers  green  leaves, 
very  like  unto  the  wild  Primrose,  but  shorter, 
rounder,  stiffer,  rougher,  more  crumpled  about  the 
edges  and  of  a  sadder  green  color,  every  one  stand- 
ing upon  his  stalk  which  is  an  inch  or  two  long 
Among  the  leaves  rise  up  divers  long  stalks,  a  foot 
or  more  high,  bearing  at  the  top  many  fair,  yellow, 
single  flowers  with  spots  of  a  deep  yellow  at  the 
bottom  of  each  leaf,  smelling  very  sweet. 

"In  England  they  have  divers  names  according 


"THE  SWEET  O'  THE  YEAR"       107 

to  several  countries,  as  Primroses,  Cowslips,  Oxlips, 
Palsieworts  and  Petty  Mullins.  The  Frantic  Fan- 
tastic, or  Foolish,  Cowslip  in  some  places  is  called 
by  country  people  Jack-an-Apes-on-Horseback, 
which  is  a  usual  name  given  by  them  to  many  other 
plants,  as  Daisies,  Marigolds,  etc.,  if  they  be  strange 
or  fantastical,  differing  in  form  from  the  ordinary 
kind  of  the  single  ones.  The  smallest  are  usually 
called  through  all  the  North  Country  Birds'  Eyen, 
because  of  the  small  yellow  circle  in  the  bottoms  of 
the  flowers  resembling  the  eye  of  a  bird." 

OXLIP  (Primula  eliator).  The  oxlip  combines 
the  qualities  of  primrose  and  cowslip.  "These  two 
plants,"  writes  a  botanist,  "appear  as  divergent  ex- 
pressions of  a  simple  type,  the  cowslip  being  a  con- 
tracted form  of  primrose,  the  sulphur  yellow  and 
the  fine  tawny,  watery  rays  of  the  latter  brightened 
into  well  defined  orange  spots.  In  the  oxlip  these 
characters  anastomose." 

Thus,  partaking  of  the  character  of  primrose  and 
cowslip,  the  oxlip  is  considered  by  some  authorities 
a  hybrid.  "The  oxlip  and  the  polyanthus,"  says 
Dr.  Forbes  Watson,  "with  its  tortoiseshell  blossoms, 
are  two  of  the  immediate  forms;  the  polyanthus 
being  a  great  triumph  of  the  gardener's  art,  a  de- 
lightful flower,  quite  a  new  creation  and  originally 


io8      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

produced  by  cultivation  of  the  primrose."  In  Eng- 
land the  oxl ip  is  found  in  woods,  fields,  meadows, 
and  under  hedges.  Though  a  spring  flower  it  lingers 
into  summer  and  is  found  in  company  with  the  nod- 
ding violet,  wild  thyme,  and  luscious  eglantine  on 
the  bank  where  Titania  loved  to  sleep  lulled  to  rest 
by  song.1  Perdita  speaks  of  "bold  oxlips"  ("The 
Winter's  Tale,"  Act  iv,  Scene  iii) ;  and  compared 
with  the  primrose  and  cowslip  the  flower  deserves 
the  adjective. 

"Oxlips  in  their  cradles  growing,"  in  the  song  in 
"The  Two  Noble  Kinsmen,"  2  which  Shakespeare 
wrote  with  John  Fletcher,  shows  great  knowledge 
of  the  plant,  for  the  root-leaves  of  the  oxlip  are 
shaped  like  a  cradle. 

Parkinson  writes:  "Those  are  usually  called  ox- 
lips  whose  flowers  are  naked,  or  bare,  without  husks 
to  contain  them,  being  not  so  sweet  as  the  cowslip, 
yet  have  they  some  little  scent,  although  the  Latin 
name  doth  make  them  to  have  none." 

"A  Midsummer  Night's  Dream";  Act  II,  Scene  II. 
2  Act  I,  Scene  I. 


"THE  SWEET  O'  THE  YEAR"       109 

i 

II 

"Daffodils  that  Come  Before  the  Swallow  Dares" 
DAFFODIL  (Narcissus  pseudo-narcissus}. 

When  daffodils  begin  to  peer, 

With  heigh!  the  doxy  over  the  dale, 

Why  then  comes  in  the  sweet  o'  the  year; 
For  the  red  blood  reigns  in  the  winter's  pale. 

Is  the  opening  verse  that  Autolycus  sings  so  gaily 
in  "The  Winter's  Tale."  1  The  daffodil  was  "care- 
fully nourished  up"  in  Elizabethan  gardens,  as  the 
saying  went.  Before  Shakespeare's  time  a  great 
number  of  daffodils  had  been  introduced  into  Eng- 
land from  various  parts  of  the  Continent.  Gerard 
describes  twenty-four  different  species,  "all  and 
every  one  of  them  in  great  abundance  in  our  London 
gardens." 

There  were  many  varieties  both  rare  and  ordi- 
nary. Parkinson  particularly  distinguishes  the  true 
daffodils,  or  narcissus,  from  the  "Bastard  Daffo- 
dils," or  pseudo  narcissus;  and  he  gives  their  differ- 
ences as  follows: 

"It  consisteth  only  in  the  flower  and  chiefly  in 
the  middle  cup,  or  chalice;  for  that  we  do,  in  a 

1  Act  IV,  Scene  II. 


no      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

manner  only,  account  those  to  be  Pseudo  Narcissus, 
Bastard  Daffodils,  whose  middle  cup  is  altogether  as 
long,  and  sometimes  a  little  longer  than,  the  outer 
leaves  that  do  encompass  it,  so  that  it  seemeth  rather 
like  a  trunk,  or  a  long  nose,  than  a  cup  or  chalice, 
such  as  almost  all  the  Narcissi,  or  true  Daffodils, 
have.  Of  the  Bastard  tribe  Parkinson  gives  the 
great  yellow  Spanish  Daffodil;  the  Mountain  Bas- 
tard of  divers  kinds;  the  early  straw-colored;  the 
great  white  Spanish;  the  greatest  Spanish  white;  the 
two  lesser  white  Spanish;  our  common  English  wild 
Bastard  Daffodil ;  the  six-cornered ;  the  great  double 
yellow,  or  John  Tradescant's  great  Rose  Daffodil; 
Mr.  Wilmer's  great  double  Daffodil;  the  great 
double  yellow  Spanish,  or  Parkinson's  Daffodil ;  the 
great  double  French  Bastard;  the  double  English 
Bastard,  or  Gerard's  double  Daffodil;  the  great 
white  Bastard  Rush  Daffodil,  or  Junquilia;  the 
greater  yellow  Junquilia;  and  many  others." 

Then  he  adds: 

"The  Pseudo  narcissus  Angliens  vulgaris  is  so 
common  in  all  England,  both  in  copses,  woods  and 
orchards,  that  I  might  well  forbear  the  description 
thereof.  It  hath  three,  or  four,  grayish  leaves,  long 
and  somewhat  narrow,  among  which  riseth  up  the 
stalk  about  a  span  high,  or  little  higher,  bearing  at 


"THE  SWEET  O'  THE  YEAR"       111 

the  top,  out  of  a  skinny  husk  (as  all  other  Daffodils 
have),  one  flower,  somewhat  large,  having  the  six 
leaves  that  stand  like  wings,  of  a  pale  yellow  color, 
and  the  long  trunk  in  the  middle  of  a  faire  yellow 
with  the  edges,  or  brims,  a  little  crumpled,  or  un- 
even. After  the  flower  is  past,  it  beareth  a  round 
head,  seeming  three  square,  containing  round  black 
seed." 

Shakespeare  knew  all  of  these  varieties  very  well 
and  had  many  of  them  in  mind  when  he  wrote  the 
beautiful  lines  for  Perdita,  who  exclaims: 

O  Proserpina! 

For  the  flowers  now  that,  frighted,  thou  lettst  fall 
From  Dis's  wagon.     Daffodils 
That  come  before  the  swallow  dares,  and  take 
The  winds  of  March  with  beauty.1 

Much  has  been  written  about  this  description  of 
the  daffodils;  and  it  is  generally  thought  that  "to 
take  the  winds  of  March  with  beauty"  means  to 
charm,  or  captivate,  the  wild  winds  with  their  love- 
liness. I  do  not  agree  with  this  idea,  and  venture 
to  suggest  that  as  the  daffodils  sway  and  swing  in 
the  boisterous  March  winds  with  such  infinite  grace 
and  beauty,  bending  this  way  and  that,  they  "take 
the  winds  with  beauty,"  just  as  a  graceful  dancer 

'"The  Winter's  Tale";  Act  IV,  Scene  III. 


112      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

is  said  to  take  the  rhythmic  steps  of  the  dance  with 
charming  manner. 

We  get  a  hint  for  this  also  in  Wordsworth's  poem : 

I  wandered  lonely   as   a  cloud 

That  floats  on  high  o'er  vales  and  hills, 

When  all  at  once  I  saw  a  crowd, 
A  host  of  yellow  daffodils; 

Beside  the   lake,  beneath  the  trees, 

Fluttering  and  dancing  in  the  breeze. 

Continuous  as  the  stars  that  shine 

And  twinkle  on  the  Milky-Way 
They   stretched  in  never-ending  line 

Along  the  margin  of  the  bay: 
Ten  thousand  saw  I  at  a  glance, 
Tossing  their  heads  in  sprightly  dance. 

The  waves  beside  them  danced,  but  they 
Outdid  the  sparkling  waves  in  glee ; 

A  poet  would  not  be  but  gay 
In  such  a  jocund  company: 

I  gazed — and  gazed — but  little  thought 

What  wealth  the  show  to  me  had  brought 

For  oft  when  on  my  couch  I  lie 

In   vacant,  or  in  pensive,   mood, 
They  flash  upon   that  inward  eye 

Which  is  the  bliss  of  solitude; 
And  then  my  heart  with  pleasure  fills 
And  dances  with  the  daffodils. 

No  one  can  read  this  poem  without  feeling  that 
the  dancing  daffodils  "take  the  winds  of  March  with 


GARDENERS    AT    WORK,    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY 


GARDEN    PLEASURES,    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY 


"THE  SWEET  O'  THE  YEAR"       113 

beauty."  The  very  name  of  the  daffodil  touches 
our  imagination.  It  carries  us  to  the  Elysian  Fields, 
for  the  ancient  Greeks  pictured  the  meads  of  the 
blessed  as  beautifully  golden  and  deliciously  fra- 
grant with  asphodels.  The  changes  ring  through 
asphodel,  affodile,  affodyl,  finally  reaching  daffodil. 
Then  there  is  one  more  quaint  and  familiar  name 
and  personification, 

Daffy-down-dilly  that  came  up  to  town 
In  a  white  petticoat  and  a  green  gown. 

The  idea  of  daffodil  as  a  rustic  maiden  was  popular 
in  folk-lore  and  poetry.  The  feeling  is  so  well  ex- 
pressed in  Michael  Drayton's  sprightly  eclogue 
called  "Daffodil"  that  it  forms  a  natural  comple- 
ment to  the  happy  song  of  care-free  Autolycus  just 
quoted.  This  Pastoral  captured  popular  fancy;  and 
it  is  just  as  fresh  and  buoyant  as  it  was  when  it  was 
written  three  hundred  years  ago.  Two  shepherds, 
Eatte  and  Gorbo,  meet: 

BATTE 
Gorbo,  as  thou  camst  this  way, 

By  yonder  little  hill, 
Or,  as  thou  through  the  fields  didst  stray, 

Sawst  thou  my  Daffodil? 

She  's  in  a  frock  of  Lincoln  green, 
Which  color  likes  the  sight; 


114      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

And  never  hath  her  beauty  seen 
But  through   a   veil  of  white. 

GORBO 
Thou  well  describst  the  daffodil; 

It   is   not   full    an   hour 
Since  by  the  spring,  near  yonder  hill, 

I  saw  that  lovely  flower. 

BATTE 
Yet  my  fair  flower  thou  didst  not  meet, 

No  news  of  her  didst  bring; 
And  yet  my  Daffodil 's  more  sweet 

Than  that  by  yonder  spring. 

GORBO 
I  saw  a  shepherd  that  doth  keep 

In  yonder  field  of  lilies 
Was   making   (as  he   fed  his   sheep) 

A  wreath  of  daffodillies. 

BATTE 
Yet,   Gorbo,  thou  deludst  me   still, 

My  flower  thou  didst  not  see; 
For  know  my  pretty  Daffodil 

Is  worn  of  none  but  me. 

To  show  itself  but  near  her  feet 

No  lily  is  so  bold, 
Except  to  shade  her  from  the  heat, 

Or  keep  her  from  the  cold. 

GORBO 

Through    yonder    vale    as    I    did   pass 
Descending  from  the  hill, 


"THE  SWEET  O'  THE  YEAR"       115 

I  met  a  smirking  bonny  lass; 
They  call  her  Daffodil, 

Whose  presence  as  along  she  went 

The  pretty  flowers  did  greet, 
As  though  their  heads  they  downward  bent 

With  homage  to  her  feet, 

And  all  the  shepherds  that  were  nigh 

From  top  of  every  hill 
Unto  the  valleys  loud  did  cry: 

There  goes  sweet  Daffodil! 

BATTE 
Ay,  gentle  shepherd,  now  with  joy 

Thou  see  my  flocks  doth  fill ; 
That 's   she   alone,   kind   shepherd  boy, 

Let's  us  to  Daffodil! 

The  flower  was  also  called  jonquil,  saffron  lily, 
Lent  lily  and  narcissus.  It  was  the  large  yellow 
narcissus,  known  as  the  Rose  of  Sharon,  so  common 
in  Palestine,  of  which  Mohammed  said:  "He  that 
hath  two  cakes  of  bread,  let  him  sell  one  of  them 
for  a  flower  of  the  narcissus;  for  bread  is  the  food 
of  the  body,  but  narcissus  is  the  food  of  the  soul." 

Narcissus,  the  most  beautiful  youth  of  Bceotia, 
was  told  that  he  would  live  happily  until  he  saw  his 
own  face.  Loved  by  the  nymphs,  and  particularly 
Echo,  he  rejected  their  advances  for  he  was  immune 
to  love  and  admiration.  One  day,  however,  he  be- 


ii6      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

held  himself  in  a  stream  and  became  so  fascinated 
with  his  reflection  that  he  pined  to  death  gazing  at 
his  own  image. 

For  him  the  Naiads  and  the  Dryads  mourn, 
Whom  the  sad  Echo  answers  in  her  turn, 
And  now  the  sister  nymphs  prepare  his  urn ; 
When  looking  for  his  corpse,  they  only  found 
A  rising  stalk  with  yellow  blossoms  crowned. 

In  the  center  of  the  cup  are  to  be  found  the  tears 
of  Narcissus ! 

Because  the  flower  was  consecrated  to  Ceres  and 
to  the  Underworld  and  to  the  Elysian  Fields,  the 
daffodil  was  one  of  the  flowers  that  Proserpine  was 
gathering  when  "dusky  Dis"  carried  her  off — and 
the  myth  also  hints  that  the  Earth  purposely  brought 
the  asphodel  forth  from  the  Underworld  to  entice 
the  unsuspecting  daughter  of  Ceres.  Sophocles  as- 
sociates the  daffodil  with  the  garlands  of  great  god- 
desses: "And  ever,  day  by  day,  the  narcissus  with 
its  beauteous  clusters,  the  ancient  coronet  of  the 
mighty  goddesses,  bursts  into  bloom  by  heaven's 
dew."  x 

The  delightful  Dr.  Forbes  Watson  writes  of  the 
daffodil  like  a  painter,  with  accurate  observation  and 
bright  palette : 

1  CEdipus  Coloneus. 


"THE  SWEET  O'  THE  YEAR"       117 

"In  the  daffodil  the  leaves  and  stems  are  of  a  full 
glaucous  green,  a  color  not  only  cool  and  refreshing 
in  itself,  but  strongly  suggestive  of  water,  the  most 
apparent  source  of  freshness  and  constituting  a  most 
delicious  groundwork  for  the  bright,  lively  yellow 
of  the  blossoms.  Now  what  sort  of  spathe  would  be 
likely  to  contribute  best  to  this  remarkable  effect  of 
the  flower?  Should  the  colors  be  unusually  striking 
or  the  size  increased,  or  what?  Strange  to  say,  in 
both  Daffodil  and  Pheasant's  Eye  (Poet's  Narcis- 
sus) we  find  the  spathe  dry  and  withered,  shrivelled 
up  like  a  bit  of  thin  brown  paper  and  clinging  round 
the  base  of  the  flowers.  We  cannot  overlook  it,  and 
most  assuredly  we  were  never  meant  to  do  so.  Noth- 
ing could  have  been  more  beautifully  ordered  than 
this  contrast,  there  being  just  sufficient  to  make  us 
appreciate  more  fully  that  abounding  freshness  of 
life. 

"It  is  a  plant  which  affords  a  most  beautiful  con- 
trast, a  cool,  watery  sheet  of  leaves  with  bright, 
warm  flowers,  yellow  and  orange,  dancing  over  the 
leaves  like  meteors  over  a  marsh.  The  leaves  look 
full  of  watery  sap,  which  is  the  life  blood  of  plants 
and  prime  source  of  all  their  freshness,  just  as  the 
tissues  of  a  healthy  child  look  plump  and  rosy  from 
the  warm  blood  circulating  within. 


ii8      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

"In  its  general  expression  the  Poet's  Narcissus 
seems  a  type  of  maiden  purity  and  beauty,  yet 
warmed  by  a  love-breathing  fragrance ;  and  yet  what 
innocence  in  the  large  soft  eye  which  few  can  rival 
among  the  whole  tribe  of  flowers.  The  narrow,  yet 
vivid  fringe  of  red  so  clearly  seen  amidst  the  white- 
ness suggests  again  the  idea  of  purity  and  gushing 
passion — purity  with  a  heart  which  can  kindle  into 
fire." 

Ill 

"Daisies  Pied  and  Violets  Blue" 

DAISY  (Bellis  perennis).  Shakespeare  often 
mentions  the  daisy.  With  "violets  blue"  "lady- 
smocks  all  silver- white,"  and  "cuckoo-buds  of  every 
hue,"  it  "paints  the  meadows  with  delight"  in  that 
delightful  spring-song  in  "Love's  Labour  's  Lost." 
Shakespeare  also  uses  this  flower  as  a  beautiful  com- 
parison for  the  delicate  hand  of  Lucrece  in  "The 
Rape  of  Lucrece" : 2 

Without  the  bed  her  other  fair  hand  was 
On  the  green  coverlet;  whose  perfect  white 
Showed  like  an  April  daisy  on  the  grass. 

1  Act  V,  Scene  II. 
'Stanza  57. 


"THE  SWEET  O'  THE  YEAR"       119 

The  daisy  is  among  the  flowers  in  the  fantastic  gar- 
lands that  poor  Ophelia  wove  before  her  death.1 

The  botanical  name  Belli s  shows  the  origin  of  the 
flower.  Belides,  a  beautiful  Dryad,  trying  to  escape 
the  pursuit  of  Vertumnus,  god  of  gardens  and 
orchards,  prayed  to  the  gods  for  help;  and  they 
changed  her  into  the  tiny  flower.  In  allusion  to  this 
Rapin  wrote: 

When  the  bright  Ram,  bedecked  with  stars  of  gold, 
Displays  his  fleece  the  Daisy  will  unfold, 
To  nymphs  a  chaplet  and  to  beds  a  grace, 
Who  once  herself  had  borne  a  virgin's  face. 

The  daisy  was  under  the  care  of  Venus.  It  has 
been  beloved  by  English  poets  ever  since  Chaucer 
sang  the  praises  of  the  day's  eye — daisy.  Chaucer 
tells  us,  in  what  is  perhaps  the  most  worshipful  poem 
ever  addressed  to  a  flower,  that  he  always  rose  early 
and  went  out  to  the  fields,  or  meadows,  to  pay  his 
devotions  to  this  "flower  of  flowers,"  whose  praises 
he  intended  to  sing  while  ever  his  life  lasted,  and 
he  bemoaned  the  fact,  moreover,  that  he  had  not 
words  at  his  command  to  do  it  proper  reverence. 

Next  to  Chaucer  in  paying  homage  to  the  daisy 
comes  Wordworth  with  his 
^'Hamlet";  Act  IV,  Scene  VII. 


120      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

A  nun  demure,  of  lowly  port; 

Or  sprightly  maiden,  of  Love's  court; 

In  thy  simplicity  the  sport 

Of  all  temptations; 
Queen  in  crown  of  rubies  drest, 
A  starveling  in  a  scanty  vest, 
Are  all,  as  seems  to  suit  the  best 

My  appellations. 

A  little  cyclops  with  one  eye 

Staring  to  threaten  and  defy 

That  thought  comes  next — and  instantly 

The  freak  is  over, 
The  shape  will  vanish — and  behold, 
A  silver   shield   with  boss   of  gold 
That  spreads   itself  some   fairy  bold 

In  fight  to  cover. 

Bright  flower !  for  by  that  name  at  last 
When  all  my  reveries  are  past 
I  call  thee,  and  to  that  cleave  fast, 

Sweet,  silent  creature 
That  breathst  with  me  the  sun  and  air, 
Do  thou  as  thou  art  wont  repair 
My  heart  with  gladness  and  a  share 

Of  thy  meek  nature. 

"Daisies  smell-less  yet  most  quaint"  is  a  line  from 
the  flower-song  in  "The  Two  Noble  Kinsmen,"  writ- 
ten by  John  Fletcher  and  Shakespeare.1 

Milton  speaks  of 

Meadows  trim  with  daisies  pied 
'Act  I,  Scene  I. 


"THE  SWEET  O'  THE  YEAR"       121 

and  Dryden  pays  a  tribute  to  which  even  Chaucer 
would  approve : 

And  then  a  band  of  flutes  began  to  play, 

To  which  a  lady  sang  a  tirelay; 

And  still  at  every  close  she  would  repeat 

The  burden  of  the  song — "The  Daisy  is  so  sweet ! 

The  Daisy  is  so  sweet !" — when  she  began 

The  troops  of  Knights  and  dames  continued  on. 

The  English  daisy  is  "The  wee,  modest  crimson- 
tipped  flower,"  as  Burns  has  described  it,  and  must 
not  be  confused  with  the  daisy  that  powders  the 
fields  and  meadows  in  our  Southern  States  with  a 
snow  of  white  blossoms  supported  on  tall  stems. 
This  daisy,  called  sometimes  the  moon-daisy  (Chrys- 
anthemum Leucanthemum),  is  known  in  England 
as  the  midsummer  daisy  and  ox-eye.  In  France  it  is 
called  marguerite  and  paquerette.  Being  a  mid- 
summer flower,  it  is  dedicated  to  St.  John  the  Bap- 
tist. It  is  also  associated  with  St.  Margaret  and 
Mary  Magdalen,  and  from  the  latter  it  derives  the 
names  of  maudlin  and  maudelyne.  As  Ophelia 
drowned  herself  in  midsummer  the  daisies  that  are 
described  in  her  wreath  are  most  probably  mar- 
guerites and  not  the  "day's  eye"  of  Chaucer. 

Parkinson  does  not  separate  daisies  very  particu- 
larly. "They  are  usually  called  in  Latin,"  he  tells 


122      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

us,  "Rellides  and  in  English  Daisies.  Some  of  them 
Herba  Margarita  and  Primula  veris,  as  is  likely 
after  the  Italian  names  of  Marguerita  and  Flor  di 
prim  a  vera  gentile.  The  French  call  them 
Paquerettes  and  Marguerites;  and  the  fruitful  sort, 
or  those  that  have  small  flowers  about  the  middle 
one,  Margueritons.  Our  English  women  call  them 
Jack-an-Apes-on-Horseback." 

The  daisy  that  an  Elizabethan  poet  quaintly  de- 
scribes as  a  Tudor  princess  resembles  the  midsum- 
mer daisy  rather  than  the  "wee,  modest,  crimson- 
tipped  flower"  of  Burns: 

About  her  neck  she  wears  a  rich  wrought  ruff 
With  double  sets  most  brave  and  broad  bespread 
Resembling  lovely  lawn,  or  cambric  stuff 
Pinned  up  and  prickt  upon  her  yellow  head. 

Also  Browne  in  his  "Pastorals"  seems  to  be  thinking 
of  this  flower : 

The  Daisy  scattered  on  each  mead  and  down, 
A  golden  tuft  within  a  silver  crown. 

VIOLET  (Viola  odorata).  The  violet  was  con- 
sidered "a  choice  flower  of  delight"  in  English  gar- 
dens. Shakespeare  speaks  of  the  violet  on  many 
occasions  and  always  with  tenderness  and  deep  ap- 
preciation of  its  qualities.  Violets  are  among  the 


"THE  SWEET  O'  THE  YEAR"       123 

flowers  that  the  frightened  Proserpine  dropped  from 
Pluto's  ebon  car — 

Violets  dim 

And  sweeter  than  the  lids  of  Juno's  eyes, 
Or   Cytherea's   breath.1 

Thus  in  Shakespeare's  opinion  the  violet  out- 
sweetened  both  Juno,  majestic  queen  of  heaven,  and 
Venus,  goddess  of  love  and  beauty. 

How  could  he  praise  the  violet  more4? 

To  throw  a  perfume  on  the  violet 
Is  wasteful  and  ridiculous  excess. 

Shakespeare  informs  us  in  "King  John."  2  With 
the  utmost  delicacy  of  perfection  he  describes 
Titania's  favorite  haunt  as 

a  bank  where  the  wild  thyme  blows, 
Where  oxlips  and  the  nodding  violet  grows.8 

In  truth,  the  tiny  flower  seems  to  nod  among  its 
leaves. 

Shakespeare  makes  the  elegant  Duke  in  "Twelfth 
Night,"  who  is  lounging  nonchalantly  on  his  divan, 
compare  the  music  he  hears  to  the  breeze  blowing 
upon  a  bank  of  violets  4  (see  page  44). 

'"The  Winter's  Tale";  Act  IV,  Scene  III. 

'Act  IV,  Scene  II. 

8 "A  Midsummer  Night's  Dream";   Act  II,  Scene  IT. 

4  Act  I,  Scene  I. 


124      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

Shelley  held  the  same  idea  that  the  delicious 
perfume  of  flowers  is  like  the  softest  melody: 

The  snowdrop  and  then  the  violet 
Arose   from   the  ground   with   warm   rain   wet; 
And  there  was  mixed  with  fresh  color,  sent 
From  the  turf  like  the  voice  and  the  instrument. 

And  the  hyacinth,  purple  and  white  and  blue, 
Which  flung  from  its  bells  a  sweet  peal  anew 
Of  music,  so  delicate,  soft  and  intense 
It  was  felt  like  an  odor  within  the  sense. 

Ophelia  laments  that  she  has  no  violets  to  give 
to  the  court  ladies  and  lords,  for  "they  withered" 
when  her  father  died,  she  tells  us.  Shakespeare 
also  associates  violets  with  melancholy  occasions. 
Marina  enters  in  "Pericles"  with  a  basket  of  flowers 

on  her  arm,  saying : * 

The  yellows,  blues, 
The  purple  violets  and  marigolds 
Shall  as  a  carpet  hang  upon  thy  grave 
While  summer  days  do  last.  " 

On  another  occasion,  with  a  broad  sweeping  ges- 
ture, Shakespeare  mentions 

The  violets  that  strew 
The  green  lap  of  the  new-come  Spring. 

1  Act  IV,  Scene  II. 


"THE  SWEET  O'  THE  YEAR"       125 

In  "Sonnet  XCIX"  he  writes: 

The  forward  violet  thus  did  I  chide: 

Sweet  thief,  whence  didst  thou  steal  the  sweet  that  smells 

If  not  from  my  love's  breath?     The  purple  pride 

Which  on  thy  soft  cheek  for  complexion  dwells 

In  my  love's  veins  thou  hast  too  grossly  dyed. 

Bacon  deemed  it  most  necessary  "to  know  what 
flowers  and  plants  do  best  perfume  the  air,"  and 
he  thought  "that  which  above  all  others  yields  the 
sweetest  smell  is  the  violet,  and  next  to  that  the 
musk- rose."  (See  page  44.) 

"Perhaps  of  all  Warwickshire  flowers,"  writes  a 
native  of  Shakespeare's  country,  "none  are  so  plenti- 
ful as  violets;  our  own  little  churchyard  of  White- 
church  is  sheeted  with  them.  They  grow  in  every 
hedgebank  until  the  whole  air  is  filled  with  their 
fragrance.  The  wastes  near  Stratford  are  sometimes 
purple  as  far  as  the  eyes  can  see  with  the  flowers  of 
viola  canina.  Our  English  violets  are  twelve  in 
number.  The  plant  is  still  used  in  medicine  and 
acquired  of  late  a  notoriety  as  a  suggested  cancer 
cure;  and  in  Shakespeare's  time  was  eaten  raw  with 
onions  and  lettuces  and  also  mingled  in  broth  and 
used  to  garnish  dishes,  while  crystallized  violets  are 
not  unknown  in  the  present  day." 


126      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

For  the  beauty  of  its  form,  for  the  depth  and 
richness  of  its  color,  for  the  graceful  drooping  of 
its  stalk  and  the  nodding  of  its  head,  for  its  lovely 
heart-shaped  leaf  and  above  all  for  its  delicious  per- 
fume, the  violet  is  admired.  Then  when  we  gaze 
into  its  tiny  face  and  note  the  delicacy  of  its  veins, 
which  Shakespeare  so  often  mentions,  we  gain  a 
sense  of  its  deeper  beauty  and  significance. 

Dr.  Forbes  Watson  observed : 

"I  give  one  instance  of  Nature's  care  for  the  look 
of  the  stamens  and  pistils  of  a  flower.  In  the  blos- 
som of  the  Scented  Violet  the  stamens  form,  by  their 
convergence,  a  little  orange  beak.  At  the  end  of 
this  beak  is  the  summit  of  the  pistil,  a  tiny  speck 
of  green,  but  barely  visible  to  the  naked  eye.  Yet 
small  as  it  is,  it  completes  the  color  of  the  flower, 
by  softening  the  orange,  and  we  can  distinctly  see 
that  if  this  mere  point  were  removed,  there  would 
be  imperfection  for  the  want  of  it." 

St.  Francis  de  Sales,  a  contemporary  of  Shake- 
speare, gave  a  lovely  description  of  the  flower  when 
he  said: 

"A  true  widow  is  in  the  Church  as  a  March  Violet, 
shedding  around  an  exquisite  perfume  by  the  frag- 
rance of  her  devotion  and  always  hidden  under  the 
ample  leaves  of  her  lowliness  and  by  her  subdued 


"THE  SWEET  O}  THE  YEAR"       127 

coloring,  showing  the  spirit  of  her  mortification. 
She  seeks  untrodden  and  solitary  places." 

The  violet's  qualities  of  lowliness,  humility,  and 
sweetness  have  always  appealed  to  poets.  The  vio- 
let is  also  beloved  because  it  is  one  of  the  earliest 
spring  flowers.  Violets  are,  like  primroses  and  cow- 
slips, 

The  first  to  rise 

And   smile   beneath   Spring's   wakening   skies, 
The  courier  of  a  band  of  coming  flowers. 

The  violet  was  also  an  emblem  of  constancy.  At 
the  floral  games,  instituted  by  Clemence  Isaure  at 
Toulouse  in  the  Fourteenth  Century,  the  prize  was 
a  golden  violet,  because  the  poetess  had  once  sent 
a  violet  to  her  Knight  as  a  token  of  faithfulness. 
With  the  Troubadours  the  violet  was  a  symbol  of 
constancy.  In  "A  Handful  of  Pleasant  Delights,"  a 
popular  song-book  published  in  Elizabeth's  reign  in 
1566,  there  is  a  poem  called  "A  Nosegay  always 
Sweet  for  Lovers  to  send  Tokens  of  Love  at  New 
Year's  tide,  or  for  Fairings,  as  they  in  their  minds 
shall  be  disposed  to  write."  This  poem  contains  a 
verse  to  the  violet: 

Violet  is  for  faithfulness 

Which  in  me  shall  abide; 
Hoping  likewise  that  from  your  heart 

You  will  not  let  it  slide, 


128      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

And  will  continue  in  the  same, 

As  you  have  now  begun; 
And  then  forever  to  abide 

Then  you  my  heart  have  won. 

The  violet  has  always  held  a  loved  place  in  the 
English  garden.  Gerard  writes  quaintly  in  his 
"Herbal" : 

"The  Black,  or  Purple  Violets,  or  March  Violets, 
of  the  garden  have  a  great  prerogative  above  all 
others,  not  only  because  the  mind  conceiveth  a  cer- 
tain pleasure  and  recreation  by  smelling  and 
handling  of  those  most  odoriferous  flowers,  but  also 
for  the  very  many  by  these  Violets  receive  ornament 
and  comely  grace;  for  there  be  made  of  them  gar- 
lands for  the  head,  nosegays  and  poesies,  which  are 
delightful  to  look  on  and  pleasant  to  smell  to,  speak; 
ing  nothing  of  their  appropriate  virtues;  yea,  gar- 
dens themselves  receive  by  these  the  greatest  orna- 
ment of  all  chief est  beauty  and  most  gallant  grace; 
and  the  recreation  of  the  mind,  which  is  taken  there- 
by, cannot  but  be  very  good  and  honest;  for  they 
admonish  and  stir  up  a  man  to  that  which  is  comely 
and  honest;  for  flowers  through  their  beauty, 
variety  of  color  and  exquisite  form  do  bring  to  a 
liberal  and  great  mind  the  remembrance  of  honesty, 
comeliness  and  all  kinds  of  virtue." 


"THE  SWEET  O'  THE  YEAR" 

Proserpine  was  gathering  violets  among  other 
flowers  in  the  fields  of  Enna  in  Sicily  when  Pluto 
carried  her  off,  Shakespeare  touched  upon  the  story 
most  exquisitely,  through  the  lips  of  Perdita,  as 
quoted  above. 

Another  Greek  myth  accounts  for  the  Greek  word 
for  the  violet,  which  is  ion.  It  seems  when,  in  order 
to  protect  her  from  the  persecutions  of  Juno,  Jove 
transformed  lovely  Europa  into  a  white  heifer  whom 
he  named  lo,  he  caused  sweet  violets  to  spring  up 
from  the  earth  wherever  the  white  cow  placed  her 
lips ;  and  from  her  name,  lo,  the  flower  acquired  the 
name  ion. 

The  Athenians  adored  the  flower.  Tablets  were 
engraved  with  the  word  ion  and  set  up  everywhere 
in  Athens;  and  of  all  sobriquets  the  citizens  pre- 
ferred that  of  "Athenian  crowned  with  violets." 

The  Persians  also  loved  the  violet  and  made  a 
delicious  wine  from  it.  A  sherbet  flavored  with 
violet  blossoms  is  served  in  Persia  and  Arabia  to- 
day at  feasts;  and  Mohammedans  say:  "The  excel- 
lence of  the  violet  is  as  the  excellence  of  El  Islam 
above  all  other  religions." 


130      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

IV 

"Lady-smocks  all  Silver  White'9  and  "Cuckoo  Buds 
of  Yellow  Hue" 

LADY-SMOCK  (Cardamine  pratensis).  The 
lovely  little  spring  song  in  "Love's  Labour's  Lost"  * 
with  the  line, 

Lady-smocks  all  silver  white, 

has  immortalized  this  little  flower  of  the  English 
meadows,  but  little  known  in  our  country.  The 
lady-smock  is  very  common  in  England  in  early 
spring.  Properly  speaking  it  should  be  Our  Lady's- 
smock,  as  it  is  one  of  the  many  plants  dedicated  to 
the  Virgin  Mary  and  bearing  her  name.  The  list  is 
a  long  one,  including  Lady's-slippers,  Lady's-bower, 
Lady's-cushion,  Lady's-mantle,  Lady's-laces,  Lady's- 
looking-glass,  Lady's-garters,  Lady's-thimble, 
Lady's-hair  (maidenhair  fern),  Lady's-seal,  Lady's- 
thistle,  Lady's-bedstraw,  Lady's-nngers,  Lady's- 
gloves,  and  so  on.  These  flowers,  originally 
dedicated  to  Venus,  Juno,  and  Diana  in  Greek 
and  Roman  mythology  and  to  Freya  and  Bertha 
in  Northern  lore  and  legend,  were  gradually  trans- 

'Act  V,  Scene  II. 


"THE  SWEET  O'  THE  YEAR"       131 

ferred  to  the  Virgin  with  the  spread  of  Christi- 
anity. The  Lady's-smock  takes  its  name  from  the 
fancied,  but  far-fetched,  resemblance  to  a  smock. 
It  is  said,  by  way  of  explanation,  that  when  these 
flowers  are  seen  in  great  quantity  they  suggest  the 
comparison  of  linen  smocks  bleaching  on  the  green 
meadow.  Other  names  for  the  plant  are  Cuckoo- 
flower, Meadow-cress,  Spinks,  and  Mayflower;  and 
in  Norfolk  the  Cardamine  pratensis  is  called  Can- 
terbury-bells. The  petals  have  a  peculiarly  soft 
and  translucent  quality  with  a  faint  lilac  tinge. 
Shakespeare  describes  the  flower  as  "silver  white," 
an  epithet  that  has  puzzled  many  persons.  How- 
ever, one  ardent  Shakespeare  lover  has  made  a  dis- 
covery : 

"Gather  a  lady-smock  as  you  tread  the  rising 
grass  in  fragrant  May,  and  although  in  individuals 
the  petals  are  sometimes  cream  color,  as  a  rule  the 
flower  viewed  in  the  hand  is  lilac — pale,  but  purely 
and  indisputably  lilac.  Where  then  is  the  silver- 
whiteness"?  It  is  the  meadows,  remember,  that  are 
painted,  when,  as  often  happens,  the  flower  is  so 
plentiful  as  to  hide  the  turf,  and  most  particularly 
if  the  ground  be  a  slope  and  the  sun  be  shining  from 
behind  us,  all  is  changed;  the  flowers  are  lilac  no 
longer;  the  meadow  is  literally  'silver-white.'  So 


132      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

it  is  always — Shakespeare's  epithets  are  like  prisms. 
Let  them  tremble  in  the  sunshine  and  we  discover 
that  it  is  he  who  knows  best." 
The  beautiful  song  begins: 

When    daisies    pied    and    violets    blue, 

And  lady-smocks  all  silver  white, 
And  cuckoo  buds  of  yellow  hue, 

Do  paint  the  meadows  with  delight, 
The  cuckoo  then,  on  every  tree, 

Mocks  married  men,  for  thus  sings  he: 

Cuckoo, 

Cuckoo,   Cuckoo — or  word  of  fear, 
Unpleasing  to  a  married  ear. 

CUCKOO  BUDS  (Ranunculus') .  It  is  quite  pos- 
sible that  in  "cuckoo  buds  of  yellow  hue"  Shake- 
speare meant  the  blossoms  of  the  buttercup  or  king- 
cup (called  by  the  country  people  of  Warwickshire 
horse-blobs).  Some  authorities  claim  that  cuckoo- 
buds  is  intended  to  represent  the  lesser  celandine,  of 
which  Wordsworth  was  so  fond  that  he  wrote  three 
poems  to  it.  Others  call  cuckoo-buds  carmine 
pratensis;  but  that  could  hardly  be  possible  because 
Shakespeare  speaks  of  "lady-smocks  all  silver  white" 
in  one  line  and  "cuckoo  buds  of  yellow  hue"  in  the 
succeeding  line. 

There  is  much  confusion  in  the  identification  of 


"THE  SWEET  O'  THE  YEAR"       133 

lady-smocks,  cuckoo-buds,  cuckoo-flowers,  and  crow- 
flowers,  for  they  are  more  or  less  related. 

Gerard  says:  "Our  Lady-Smock  is  also  called  the 
cuckoo-flower  because  it  flowers  in  April  and  May 
when  the  cuckoo  doth  begin  to  sing  her  pleasant 
notes  without  stammering." 

V 

Anemones  and  "Azured  Harebells" 

ANEMONE  (Anemone  pur  pur  ea  striata  stel- 
laid).  The  anemone  is  described  in  "Venus  and 
Adonis"  very  minutely :  1 

By  this,  the  boy  that  by  her  side  lay  kill'd, 
Was  melted  like  a  vapor  from  her  sight, 
And  in  his  blood  that  on  the  ground  lay  spill  'd, 
A  purple  flower  sprung  up  chequer'd  with  white. 
Resembling  well  his  pale  cheeks,  and  the  blood, 
Which  in  round  drops  upon  their  whiteness  stood. 

Adonis,  the  beautiful  youth,  beloved  of  Venus, 
was  wounded  by  a  boar,  to  which  he  had  given  chase. 
Venus  found  him  as  he  lay  dying  on  the  grass.  To 
make  him  immortal  she  changed  him  into  an  ane- 
mone, or  windflower.  Naturally  the  flower  was 
dedicated  to  Venus. 

1  Verse  195. 


134      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

Bion  sang : 

Alas!  the  Paphian!   fair  Adonis  slain! 

Tears  plenteous  as  his  blood  she  pours  amain, 

But  gentle  flowers  are  born  and  bloom  around 

From  every  drop  that  falls  upon  the  ground. 

Where  streams  his  blood,  there  blushing  springs  a  Rose 

And  where  a  tear  has  dropped  a  windflower  blows. 

Pliny  asserted  the  anemone  only  blooms  when 
the  wind  blows. 

The  flower  was  associated  with  illness  in  the  days 
of  the  Egyptians  and  also  during  the  Middle  Ages, 
when  there  was  also  a  superstition  that  the  first  ane- 
mone gathered  would  prove  a  charm  against  disease. 
The  first  spring  blossom  was,  therefore,  eagerly 
searched  for,  delightedly  plucked,  and  carefully 
guarded.  No  token  of  affection  was  more  prized  by 
a  loved  one  going  off  on  a  journey  than  the  gift  of 
an  anemone.  An  old  ballad  has  the  lines: 

The  first  Spring-blown  Anemone  she  in  his  doublet  wove, 
To  keep  him  safe  from  pestilence  wherever  he  should  rove. 

Anemones  were  greatly  valued  in  Elizabethan 
gardens.  Indeed  it  was  a  fad  to  grow  them. 
Parkinson  distinguishes  the  family  of  anemones  as 
"the  wild  and  the  tame,  or  manured,  both  of  them 
nourished  up  in  gardens."  He  classifies  them  still 
further  as  "those  that  have  broader  leaves  and  those 


"THE  SWEET  O'  THE  YEAR"       135 

that  have  thinner,  or  more  jagged,  leaves" ;  and  then 
again  into  those  "that  bear  single  flowers  and  those 
that  bear  double  flowers."  The  wild  kinds  included 
"all  the  Pulsatillas,  or  Pasque  (Easter)  flowers." 
Parkinson  mentions  many  varieties.  He  describes 
the  "tame"  anemones  as  white,  yellow,  purple,  crim- 
son, scarlet,  blush  gredeline  (between  peach  color 
and  violet),  orange-tawny,  apple-blossom,  rose- 
color,  and  many  others.  From  his  list  we  can  have 
no  doubt  that  Shakespeare's  flower  was  one  of  the 
purple  star  anemones — the  Anemone  pur  pur  ea 
striata  stellata,  "whose  flowers  have  many  white 
lines  and  stripes  through  the  leaves."  Parkinson's 
name  is  "the  purple-striped  Anemone." 

Of  recent  years  anemones  have  again  become  the 
fashion. 

"How  gorgeous  are  these  flowers  to  behold,"  ex- 
claims Ryder  Haggard,  "with  their  hues  of  vivid 
scarlet  and  purple !  To  be  really  appreciated,  how- 
ever, they  should,  I  think,  be  seen  in  their  native 
home,  the  East.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Mount 
Tabor  in  Palestine,  I  have  met  with  them  in  such 
millions  that  for  miles  the  whole  plain  is  stained  red, 
blue  and  white,  growing  so  thickly  indeed  that  to 
walk  across  it  without  setting  foot  on  a  flower  at 
every  step  would  be  difficult.  I  believe,  and  I  think 


136      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

that  this  view  is  very  generally  accepted,  that  these 
are  the  same  lilies  of  the  field  that  'toil  not  neither 
do  they  spin/  which  Our  Lord  used  to  illustrate  His 
immortal  lesson.  Truly  Solomon  in  all  his  glory 
was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  these." 

The  Adonis  flower  {Flos  Adorns}  spoken  of  by 
Ben  Jonson  and  others  has  nothing  to  do  with  the 
anemone.  It  is  a  kind  of  camomile.  "Some  have 
taken  the  red  kind  to  be  a  kind  of  Anemone,"  says 
Parkinson.  "The  most  usual  name  now  with  us  is 
Flos  Adorns.  In  English  it  is  also  called  the  May- 
weed and  Rosarubie  and  Adonis  Flower." 

HAREBELL  (Scilla  nutans)>  The  "azured 
harebell,"  which  Shakespeare  uses  in  "Cymbeline" 
for  comparison  with  the  delicate  veins  of  Fidele 
(Imogen),  has  been  identified  as  the  English  jacinth, 
blue  harebell,  or  hare's-bell.  Browne's  "Pastorals" 
show  that  this  flower  was  only  worn  by  faithful 
lovers;  and,  therefore,  the  flower  is  most  appro- 
priately selected  for  association  with  Imogen. 
Browne  says: 

The  Harebell,  for  her  stainless,  azured  hue 
Claims  to  be  worn  of  none  but  who  are  true. 

This  flower  is  also  called  the  "wild  hyacinth."  Blos- 
soming in  May  and  June,  it  is  one  of  the  precious 

'See  p.  207. 


"THE  SWEET  OJ  THE  YEAR"       137 

ornaments  of  English  woods.  "Dust  of  sapphire,"  its 
jewel-like  flowers  have  been  called. 

"Our  English  jacinth,  or  harebells,"  writes 
Parkinson,  "is  so  common  everywhere  that  it  scarce 
needeth  any  description.  It  beareth  divers  long  nar- 
row green  leaves,  not  standing  upright,  not  yet  fully 
lying  on  the  ground,  among  which  springeth  up  the 
stalk,  bearing  at  the  top  many  long  and  hollow 
flowers,  hanging  down  their  heads,  all  forwards,  for 
the  most  part,  parted  at  the  brims  into  six  parts, 
turning  up  their  points  a  little  again,  of  a  sweetish, 
but  heady,  scent,  like  unto  the  Grapeflower.  The 
heads  for  seed  are  long  and  square,  wherein  is  much 
black  seed.  The  color  of  the  flowers  is  in  some  of 
a  deep  blue  tending  to  purple,  in  others  of  a  paler 
blue,  or  of  a  bleak  blue  tending  to  an  ash  color. 
Some  are  pure  white  and  some  are  parti-colored  blue 
and  white;  and  some  are  of  a  fine  delayed  purplish 
red,  or  bluish  color,  which  some  call  a  pearl  color." 

VI 

Columbine  and  Broom-flower 

COLUMBINE  (Aquilegia  vulgaris).  "There's 
fennel  for  you,  and  columbines,"  says  Ophelia,  as 
she  hands  the  flowers  to  the  courtiers.1  Shakespeare 

'"Hamlet";  Act  IV,  Scene  V. 


138       THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

also  mentions  the  columbine  in  "Love's  Labour  's 
Lost"  *  where  Don  Armada,  the  ''fantastical  Span- 
iard" (a  caricature  of  a  real  person  at  Queen  Eliza- 
beth's court),  exclaims,  "I  am  that  flower,"  to  which 
Dumain  and  Longueville  reply  in  derision,  "That 
mint!  That  columbine!"  Of  the  columbine  of 
Shakespeare's  time,  Parkinson  says: 

"There  be  many  sorts  of  Columbines  as  well 
differing  in  form  as  color  of  the  flowers,  and  of  them, 
both  single  and  double,  carefully  nursed  up  in  our 
gardens  for  the  delight  both  of  their  forms  and 
colors.  The  variety  of  the  colors  of  these  flowers 
are  very  much,  for  some  are  wholly  white,  some  of  a 
blue,  or  violet,  color,  others  of  a  bluish,  or  flesh, 
color,  or  deep,  or  pale,  red,  or  of  a  dead  purple,  or 
dead  murrey  color,  as  Nature  listeth  to  show." 

The  generic  name  is  derived  from  the  word  aquila, 
an  eagle,  because  of  the  fancied  resemblance  of  some 
parts  of  the  flower  to  the  talons  of  an  eagle.  The 
English  name  comes  from  the  Latin  columba,  a  dove, 
from  the  likeness  of  its  nectaries  to  the  heads  of 
doves  in  a  ring  around  a  dish,  or  to  the  figure  of  a 
dove  hovering  with  expanded  wings  discovered  by 
pulling  off  one  petal  with  its  detached  sepals.  Hence 
this  was  called  the  dove  plant.  From  the  belief  that 

'Act  V,  Scene  II. 


"THE  SWEET  O'  THE  YEAR"       139 

it  was  the  favorite  plant  of  the  lion  it  was  called 
Herba  leonis. 

The  columbine  was  valued  for  many  medicinal 
virtues. 

"The  scarlet  and  yellow  columbine,"  writes 
Matthew,  "is  one  of  our  most  beautiful  wild  flowers. 
It  is  my  experience  that  certain  flowers  have  certain 
favorite  haunts,  which  are  exclusively  held  by  them 
year  after  year.  This  flower  is  in  its  prime  about 
the  first  of  June,  and  is  nearly  always  found  beside 
some  lichen-covered  rock." 

The  English  and  American  flowers  differ,  al- 
though the  early  colonists  brought  the  English 
flower  with  them.  Grant  Allen  tells  us : 

"The  English  columbine  is  a  more  developed  type 
than  the  American  scarlet,  is  never  yellow  in  the 
wild  state,  but  often  purple,  and,  sometimes,  blue. 
Larkspur,  ranking  still  higher  in  the  floral  scale,  in 
virtue  of  its  singular  bilateral  blossoms,  is  usually 
blue,  though  it  sometimes  reverts  to  reddish-purple, 
or  white ;  while  monkshood,  the  very  top  of  the  tree 
on  this  line  of  development,  is  usually  deep  ultra- 
marine, only  a  few  species  being  prettily  variegated 
with  pale  blue  and  white.  As  a  rule,  blue  flowers 
are  the  very  highest;  and  the  reason  seems  to  lie  in 
the  strange  fact,  first  discovered  by  Sir  John  Lub- 


140      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

bock,  that  bees  are  fonder  of  blue  than  of  any  other 
color.  Still,  they  are  fond  enough  even  of  red ;  and 
one  may  be  sure  that  the  change  from  yellow  to 
scarlet  in  the  petals  of  the  American  columbine  is 
due  in  one  way  or  another  to  the  selective  tastes  and 
preferences  of  the  higher  insects." 

The  colors  of  the  American  columbine  are  dark 
opaque  blues,  smoky  purples,  dull  pinks,  pale  blues, 
lavenders,  reds  and  yellows — an  infinite  variety ! 

"The  flowering  of  the  'Columbine  Commendable,' 
as  Skelton  called  it  four  hundred  years  ago,"  says 
Harriet  L.  Keeler,  "marks  the  beginning  of  sum- 
m'er.  The  reign  of  the  bulbs  is  over; 

The  windflower  and  the  violet 
They    perished    long    ago; 

the  petals  of  the  early  roses  are  falling;  the  elder- 
blossoms  show  white  along  the  fence  rows;  and  the 
season  waxes  to  its  prime. 

"A  wild  flower  of  English  fields,  the  columbine 
was  early  transferred  into  English  gardens  and  has 
held  its  place  securely  there  for  at  least  five  hun- 
dred years.  Its  seeds  were  among  the  treasures  borne 
over  the  sea  to  the  New  World  and  it  early  bloomed 
in  Pilgrim  gardens.  This  primitive  stock  still  per- 
sists in  cultivation. 


"THE  SWEET  O'  THE  YEAR"       141 

"The  flower  of  the  columbine  is  a  unique  and  in- 
teresting form.  The  sepals  look  like  petals  and 
the  petals  are  veritable  horns  of  plenty  filled  with 
nectar  at  the  closed  ends  for  the  swarms  of  bees 
which  gather  about.  The  sweets  are  produced  by 
the  blossoms  on  a  generous  scale,  and  to  a  columbine 
bed  in  full  bloom  the  bees  come,  big  and  little,  noisy 
and  silent — all  giddy  with  the  feast.  There  is  no 
use  trying  to  drive  them  away  for  they  will  not  go. 
Clumsy  bumble  bees  with  tongues  long  enough  to 
reach  the  honey  by  the  open  door,  wise  honey  bees 
who  have  learned  to  take  the  short  road  to  the 
nectar  by  biting  through  the  spur,  quiet  brown  bees, 
little  green  carpenters — all  are  there,  'vehement, 
voluble,  velvety,'  in  a  glorious  riot  of  happiness  and 
honey. 

"The  doubling  occurs  chiefly  with  the  petals;  the 
sepals,  as  a  rule,  hold  true  to  the  five,  but  the  petals 
sometimes  double  in  number,  becoming  ten  spurs  in 
place  of  five,  and  each  spur  becomes  a  nest  of  spurs 
like  a  set  of  Chinese  cups,  though  the  innermost  are 
frequently  imperfect." 

The  columbine  frequently  appears  in  the  paint- 
ings of  the  Great  Masters.  Luini  has  immortalized 
it  in  his  picture  of  this  title  now  in  the  gallery  of 
the  Hermitage  at  Petrograd.  A  fascinating  woman 


142      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

with  a  smile  as  enchanting — if  not  so  famous — as 
Leonardo  da  Vinci's  "Mona  Lisa"  holds  an  ex- 
quisitely painted  columbine  in  her  left  hand  and 
gazes  at  it  with  tender,  loving  emotion. 

The  early  Italian  and  Flemish  painters  include 
the  columbine  with  the  rose,  lily,  pink,  violet,  straw- 
berry, and  clover  in  the  gardens  where  the  Madonna 
sits  with  the  Holy  Child.  The  reason  that  the 
columbine  was  chosen  as  a  flower  of  religious  sym- 
bolism was  because  of  the  little  doves  formed  by 
the  five  petals.  The  columbine  signified  the  "Seven 
Gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit,"  and  the  Flemish  painters 
in  their  zeal  for  accuracy  corrected  the  number  of 
petals  to  seven  to  make  the  flower  agree  with  the 
teaching  of  the  Church. 

Yet  although  the  columbine  has  these  religious 
associations,  we  always  think  of  it  as  an  airy, 
piquant  flower,  the  gay  and  irresponsible  dancer  of 
the  rocks  and  dells,  clad,  as  it  were,  in  fantastic  and 
parti-colored  dress.  Graceful  in  form  and  charm- 
ing in  color,  put  together  with  extreme  delicacy 
on  slender,  flexible,  fragile  stems  and  adorned  with 
a  leaf  approaching  that  of  the  fern  in  delicacy  and 
lace-like  beauty,  the  columbine  is  one  of  the  most 
delightful  of  flowers.  Always  associated  with  folly, 
we  love  it  none  the  less  for  that,  for  there  are  times 


"THE  SWEET  O'  THE  YEAR"       143 

when  we  enjoy  Harlequin  and  Columbine  among 
our  flowers, — and  these  fantastic  and  frivolous 
columbines  dancing  so  gaily  in  the  breeze  always  fill 
us  with  delight. 

BROOM  (Cytisus  scoparius).  Although  the 
broom  was  a  popular  plant  in  Elizabethan  days  it  is 
only  mentioned  once  by  Shakespeare.  In  "The 
Tempest,"  *  where  Ins  in  the  mask  in  her  apostrophe 
to  "Ceres,  most  bounteous  lady,"  speaks  of 

thy  broom-groves 

Whose  shadow  the  dismissed  bachelor  loves, 
Being  lass-lorn  .    .    . 

...  the  queen  o'  the  sky  .   .   . 
Bids  thee  leave  these. 

When  in  blossom  the  broom  is  lovely  to  look  upon. 
The  large  yellow  flowers  are  gracefully  arranged  on 
the  branches,  and  its  perfume  is  delightful. 

"Sweet  is  the  Broome-flower !"  exclaims  Spenser. 
The  broom  is  the  Planta  genesta,  from  which  the 
Plantagenets  took  their  name.  The  flower,  having 
become  heraldic  during  that  dynasty,  was  embroid- 
ered on  the  clothes  of  the  Plantagenet  family  and 
imitated  in  their  jewels.  When  they  died  it  was 
carved  on  their  monuments.  The  story  goes  that 
Geoffrey,  Earl  of  Anjou,  father  of  Henry  II  of 

1  Act  IV,  Scene  I. 


144      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

England,  once  on  his  way  to  a  field  of  battle,  had  to 
climb  a  rocky  path,  and  he  noticed  as  he  went  along 
the  bushes  of  yellow  broom  clinging  to  the  rocks. 
Breaking  off  a  branch  he  placed  it  in  his  helmet 
with  the  words:  "This  golden  plant  shall  be  my 
emblem  henceforth.  Rooted  firmly  among  rocks  and 
upholding  that  which  is  ready  to  fall."  His  son, 
Henry,  was  called  "the  royal  sprig  of  Genesta." 
The  golden  plume  of  broom-flowers  was  worn  by 
the  Plantagenets  until  the  last  one  of  the  line,  Rich- 
ard III,  lost  the  Crown  of  England  to  Henry  VII, 
the  first  of  the  Tudors. 

In  1264  the  Plant  a  genesta  was  honored  by  St. 
Louis,  who  instituted  the  Order  of  Genest  on  his 
marriage  with  Marguerite.  The  Knights  of  the 
Genest  wore  chains  made  of  the  broom-flower  alter- 
nating with  the  fleur-de-lis.  Shakespeare  speaks  of 
a  "broom-staff"  and  sends  Puck 

with  broom  before 
To  sweep  the  dust  behind  the  door. 

Whether  Puck's  broom  was  made  from  the  Genesta 
or  not  we  do  not  know;  but  we  do  know  that  the 
broom,  in  common  with  other  briars,  was  used  to 
make  besoms  for  sweeping  and  also  for  staffs  to  walk 
with  and  to  lean  upon. 


Summer 

"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS" 


"Morning  Roses  Newly  Washed  with  Dew" 

THE  ROSE  (Rosa).   Shakespeare  speaks  of 
the  rose  more  frequently  than  any  other 
flower.     Sixty  references  to  the  rose  are 
scattered  through  his  works.    Sometimes  he  talks  of 
the  rose  itself  and  sometimes  he  uses  the  word  to 
make    a   striking   comparison,   or    analogy.     With 
magical  touch  he  gives  us  the  bold  picture  of  a 
Red  rose  on  triumphant  briar, 

then  he  brings  before  us  a  delicious  whiff  of  the 
Perfumed  tincture  of  the  roses, 

or  the  luscious  fragrance  of 

Morning  roses  newly  washed  with  dew. 
With  equal  delicacy  of  perception  he  tells  us 

So  sweet  a  kiss  the  golden  sun  gives  not 
To  those  fresh  morning  drops  upon  the  rose.1 

'"Love's  Labour's  Lost";  Act  IV,  Scene  III. 

145 


146      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

Shakespeare's  special  roses  are  the  Red,  the  White, 
the  Musk,  the  Eglantine  (sweetbrier),  the  Pro- 
vengal,  or  Provins,  the  Damask,  the  Canker,  and  the 
Variegated. 

THE  RED  ROSE  (Rose  Anglic  a  rubra),  the 
English  red,  is  thus  described  by  Parkinson : 

'The  Red  Rose,  which  I  call  English  because  this 
rose  is  more  frequent  and  used  in  England  than  in 
other  places,  never  groweth  so  high  as  the  Damask 
Rose-bush,  but  more  usually  abideth  low  and 
shooteth  forth  many  branches  from  the  Rose-bush 
(and  is  but  seldom  suffered  to  grow  up  as  the 
Damask  Rose  into  standards)  with  a  green  bark 
thinner  set  with  prickles  and  longer  and  greener 
leaves  on  the  upper  side  than  in  the  white,  yet  with 
an  eye  of  white  upon  them,  five  likewise  most 
usually  set  upon  a  stalk  and  grayish,  or  whitish,  un- 
derneath. The  Roses,  or  flowers,  do  very  much  vary 
according  to  their  site  and  abiding,  for  some  are  of 
an  orient  red,  or  deep  crimson,  color  and  very  double 
(although  never  so  double  as  the  White),  which, 
when  it  is  full  blown,  hath  the  largest  leaves  of  any 
other  Rose;  some  of  them  again  are  paler,  tending 
somewhat  to  a  Damask;  and  some  are  of  so  pale  a 
red  as  that  it  is  rather  of  the  color  of  a  Canker  Rose, 
yet  all  for  the  most  part  with  larger  leaves  than 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  147 

the  Damask,  and  with  many  more  yellow  threads  in 
the  middle.  The  scent  hereof  is  much  better  than 
in  the  White,  but  not  comparable  to  the  excellency 
of  the  Damask  Rose,  yet  this  Rose,  being  well  dried 
and  well  kept,  will  hold  both  color  and  scent  longer 
than  the  Damask." 

THE  WHITE  ROSE  (Rosa  Anglica  alba). 

"The  White  Rose  is  of  two  kinds,"  says  Parkin- 
son, "the  one  more  thick  and  double  than  the  other. 
The  one  riseth  up  in  some  shadowy  places  unto  eight 
or  ten  foot  high,  with  a  stock  of  great  bigness  for  a 
rose.  The  other  growing  seldom  higher  than  a 
Damask  Rose.  Both  these  Roses  have  somewhat 
smaller  and  whiter  green  leaves  than  in  many  other 
Roses,  five  most  usually  set  on  a  stock  and  more 
white  underneath,  as  also  a  whiter  green  bark,  armed 
with  sharp  thorns,  or  prickles.  The  flowers  in  the 
one  are  whitish  with  an  eye,  or  shew,  of  a  blush, 
especially  towards  the  ground,  or  bottom,  of  the 
flower,  very  thick,  double  and  close  set  together; 
and,  for  the  most  part,  not  opening  itself  so  largely 
and  fully  as  either  the  Red,  or  Damask  Rose.  The 
other  more  white,  less  thick  and  double  and  opening 
itself  more,  and  some  so  little  double  (as  but  of  two 
or  three  rows)  that  they  might  be  held  to  be  single, 
yet  all  of  little  or  no  smell  at  all." 


148      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

From  this  Rosa  alba,  Pliny  says,  the  isle  of  Albion 
derived  its  name — a  happy  thought  when  we  remem- 
ber that  the  rose  is  still  the  national  emblem  of 
England. 

MUSK-ROSE  (Rosa  moschata).  Musk-roses  and 
eglantine  mingled  with  honeysuckle  formed  the 
canopy  beneath  which  Titania  slumbered  on  a  bank 
made  soft  and  lovely  with  wild  thyme,  oxlips  and 
nodding  violets.  And  in  the  "coronet  of  fresh  and 
fragrant  flowers"  that  the  dainty  little  fairy  queen 
placed  upon  the  hairy  temples  of  Bottom  the 
Weaver,  musk- roses  were  conspicuous;  and  the 
sweetness  of  these  was  intensified  by  "the  round  and 
Orient  pearls  of  dew"  that  swelled  upon  the  petals, 
as  the  "pretty  flowerets  bewailed  their  own  dis- 
grace." 

It  is  this  delicious  rose  which  Keats,  when  listen- 
ing to  the  nightingale,  sensed  rather  than  visualized 
in  the  twilight  dimness : 

The  coming  musk-rose  full  of  dewy  wine, 
The  murmurous  haunt  of  flies  on  summer  eves. 

The  musk-rose  was  adored  by  the   Elizabethans. 
Lord  Bacon  considered  its  scent  to  come  next  to 
that  of  the  violet,  and  before  all  other  flowers. 
"You  remember  the  great  bush  at  the  corner  of 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  149 

the  south  wall  just  by  the  Blue  Drawing-room  win- 
dow?" writes  Mrs.  Gaskell  in  "My  Lady  Ludlow." 
"That  is  the  old  musk- rose,  Shakespeare's  musk- rose, 
which  is  dying  out  through  the  kingdom  now.  The 
scent  is  unlike  the  scent  of  any  other  rose,  or  of  any 
other  flower." 

The  musk-rose  is  a  native  of  North  Africa,  Spain, 
and  India  (Nepal).  Hakluyt  in  1582  gave  the  date 
of  its  introduction  into  England.  "The  turkey-cocks 
and  hens,"  he  says,  "were  brought  in  about  fifty 
years  past;  the  Artichoke  in  the  time  of  Henry  the 
Eighth;  and  of  later  times  was  procured  out  of  Italy 
the  Musk  Rose  plant  and  the  Plum  called  Perdig- 


wena." 


Turning  now  to  Parkinson  and  opening  his  big 
volume  at  the  page  "Rosa  Moschata,  simple  and 
multiplex,"  we  read: 

"The  Musk  Rose,  both  single  and  double,  rises 
up  oftentimes  to  a  very  great  height  that  it  over- 
groweth  any  arbor  in  a  Garden,  or  being  set  by  a 
house  side  to  be  ten  or  twelve  foot  high,  or  more, 
but  especially  the  single  kind  with  many  green  far 
spread  branches  armed  with  a  few  sharp  great 
thorns,  as  the  wilder  sorts  of  Roses  are,  whereof 
these  are  accounted  to  be  kinds,  having  small  dark 
green  leaves  on  them,  not  much  bigger  than  the 


150      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

leaves  of  Eglantines.  The  Flowers  come  forth  at 
the  tops  of  the  branches,  many  together  as  it  were 
in  an  umbel,  or  tuft,  which,  for  the  most  part,  do 
flower  all  at  a  time,  or  not  long  one  after  another, 
every  one  standing  on  a  pretty  long  stalk  and  are  of 
a  pale  whitish,  or  cream  color,  both  the  single  and 
the  double,  the  single  being  small  flowers  consisting 
of  five  leaves  with  many  yellow  threads  in  the  mid- 
dle; and  the  double  bearing  more  double  flowers, 
as  if  they  were  once  or  twice  more  double  than  the 
single,  with  yellow  thrums  also  in  the  middle,  both 
of  them  of  a  very  sweet  and  pleasing  smell,  re- 
sembling musk.  Some  there  be  that  have  avouched 
that  the  chief  scent  of  these  Roses  consisteth  not  in 
the  leaves  but  in  the  threads  of  the  Flowers." 

The  color  of  the  musk-rose  is  white,  slightly 
tinged  with  pink. 

EGLANTINE;  ALSO  SWEETBRIER  (Rosa 
eglanteria).  This  is  a  conspicuous  adornment  of 
Titanid s  bower,  and  is  as  remarkable  for  its  beauty 
as  for  its  scent.  The  pink  flowers  with  their  golden 
threads  in  the  center  are  familiar  to  every  one. 

"The  Sweet  Briar,  or  Eglantine,"  Parkinson 
writes,  "is  not  only  planted  in  Gardens  for  the  sweet- 
ness of  its  leaves,  but  growing  wild  in  many  woods 
and  hedges,  hath  exceeding  long  green  shoots  armed 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  151 

with  the  cruellest  sharp  and  strong  thorns  and 
thicker  set  than  is  in  any  Rose,  either  wild  or  tame. 
The  leaves  are  smaller  than  in  most  of  those  that 
are  nourished  up  in  Gardens,  seven  or  nine,  most 
usually  set  together  on  a  rib,  or  stalk,  very  green  and 
sweeter  in  smell  about  the  leaves  of  any  other  kind 
of  Rose.  The  flowers  are  small,  single,  blush 
Roses." 

PROVENCAL,  OR  PROVINS  (Centi folia).  This 
old-fashioned  cabbage-rose  of  globular  flowers,  mas- 
sive foliage,  hard  knob  of  leaves  in  the  center,  and 
sweet  perfume  is  affectionately  known  as  the  "Hun- 
dred Leaf,"  or  rose  a  cent  feuilles.  Parkinson  gives 
two  varieties:  the  incarnate,  or  flesh-color;  and  the 
red. 

In  our  country  the  light  pink,  or  incarnate,  is  the 
more  familiar.  What  associations  does  it  not  con- 
jure up?  To  many  of  us  Dean  Hole's  words  make 
a  touching  appeal : 

"The  blushing,  fresh,  fragrant  Provence !  It  was 
to  many  of  us  the  Rose  of  our  childhood  and  its 
delicious  perfume  passes  through  the  outer  sense  into 
our  hearts  gladdening  them  with  bright  and  happy 
dreams,  saddening  them  with  love  and  child  awaken- 
ings. It  brings  more  to  us  than  the  fairness  and 
sweet  smell  of  a  Rose.  We  passed  in  our  play  to 


THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

gaze  on  it  with  the  touch  of  a  vanished  hand  in  ours, 
with  a  father's  blessing  on  our  heads  and  a  mother's 
prayer  that  we  might  never  lose  our  love  of  the  beau- 
tiful. Happy  they  who  return,  or  regain,  that  love." 

THE  DAMASK  ROSE  (Rosa  damascend)  is  a 
native  of  Syria,  whence  it  was  brought  to  Europe 
about  1270  by  Thibault  IV,  Comte  de  Brie,  return- 
ing from  the  Holy  Land.  We  know  exactly  when 
it  was  introduced  into  England  because  Hakluyt, 
writing  in  1582,  says:  "In  time  of  memory  many 
things  have  been  brought  in  that  were  not  here  be- 
fore, as  the  Damask  Rose  by  Doctor  Liniker,  King 
Henry  the  Seventh  and  King  Henry  the  Eighth's 
physician." 

"Gloves  as  sweet  as  Damask  Roses"  Autolycus 
carries  in  his  peddler's  pack  for  "lads  to  give  their 
dears,"  along  with  masks  for  their  faces,  perfume, 
necklace-amber,  pins,  quoifs,  and  "lawn  as  white  as 
driven  snow." 

Parkinson  informs  us: 

"The  Damask  Rose-bush  is  more  usually  nour- 
ished up  to  a  competent  height  to  stand  alone  (which 
we  call  Standards),  than  any  other  Rose.  The  bark, 
both  of  the  stock  and  branches,  is  not  fully  so  green 
as  the  Red  or  White  Rose.  The  leaves  are  green 

'"The  Winter's  Tale";  Act  IV,  Scene  III. 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  153 

with  an  eye  of  white  upon  them.  The  flowers  are 
of  a  fine  deep  blush  color,  as  all  know,  with  some 
pale  yellow  threads  in  the  middle,  and  are  not  so 
thick  and  double  as  the  White,  not  being  blown  with 
so  large  and  great  leaves  as  the  Red,  but  of  the 
most  excellent  sweet  pleasant  scent,  far  surpassing 
all  other  Roses  or  Flowers,  being  neither  heady,  nor 
too  strong,  nor  stuffing  or  unpleasant  sweet,  as  many 
other  flowers. 

"The  Rose  is  of  exceeding  great  use  with  us,  for 
the  Damask  Rose  (besides  the  superexcellent  sweet 
water  it  yieldeth,  being  distilled,  or  the  perfume  of 
its  leaves,  being  dried,  serving  to  fill  sweet  bags) 
serveth  to  cause  solubleness  of  the  body,  made  into 
a  syrup,  or  preserved  with  sugar,  moist  or  candied." 
The  name  is  obviously  from  Damascus. 

CANKER  (Rosa  canina).  This  is  the  wild  dog- 
rose  common  to  many  countries.  The  name  dog- 
rose  was  given  to  it  by  the  Romans,  because  the  root 
was  said  to  cure  the  bite  of  a  mad  dog.  Pliny  says 
the  remedy  was  discovered  in  a  dream  by  the  mother 
of  a  soldier  who  had  been  bitten  by  a  mad  dog.  Don 
Juan's  remark  in  "Much  Ado  About  Nothing."  * 

I  had  rather  be  a  canker  in  the  hedge 
Than  a  rose  in  his  garden, 

*Act  I,  Scene  III. 


154      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

refers,  of  course,  to  the  canker-rose.  According  to 
legend,  the  Crown  of  Thorns  was  made  from  the 
briers  of  this  variety  of  rose. 

VARIEGATED  ROSE  (Rosa  versicolor)  of 
Shakespeare's  plays  is  the  curious  bush  which  pro- 
duces at  the  same  time  red  roses,  white  roses,  and 
roses  of  red  mottled  with  white  and  of  white  mottled 
with  red.  The  growth  of  the  tree  is  stiff  and  erect 
and  the  flowers  have  a  sweet  scent.  The  rose  is  often 
called  the  "York  and  Lancaster."  Parkinson  says : 

"This  Rose  in  the  form  and  order  of  the  growing 
is  nearest  unto  the  ordinary  Damask  Rose  both  for 
stem,  branch,  leaf  and  flower,  the  difference  con- 
sisting in  this — that  the  flower  (being  of  the  same 
largeness  and  doubleness  as  the  Damask  Rose)  hath 
the  one  half  of  it  sometimes  of  a  pale  whitish  color 
and  the  other  half  of  a  paler  damask  color  than  the 
ordinary.  This  happeneth  so  many  times,  and  some- 
times also  the  flower  hath  divers  stripes  and  marks 
on  it,  one  leaf  white,  or  striped  with  white,  and  the 
other  half  blush,  or  striped  with  blush,  sometimes 
all  striped,  or  spotted  over,  and  at  other  times  little 
or  no  stripes,  or  marks,  at  all,  as  Nature  listeth  to 
play  with  varieties  in  this  as  in  other  flowers.  Yet 
this  I  have  observed,  that  the  longer  it  abideth  blown 
open  to  the  sun,  the  paler  and  the  fewer  stripes, 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  155 

marks,  or  spots  will  be  seen  in  it.  The  smell  is  of  a 
weak  Damask  Rose  scent." 

This  rose  recalls  the  old  song  of  a  "Lover  to  His 
Lancastrian  Mistress,"  on  handing  her  a  white  rose : 

If  this  fair  rose  offend  thy  sight, 

Placed  in  thy  bosom  bare, 
JT  will  blush  to  find  itself  less  white, 

And  turn  Lancastrian  there, 

But  if  thy  ruby  lip  it  spy, 

As  kiss  it  thou  mayst  deign, 
With  envy  pale  't  will  lose  its  dye, 

And  Yorkish  turn  again. 

In  his  play  of  "King  Henry  VI,"  which  passes  dur- 
ing the  Wars  of  the  Roses,  Shakespeare  introduces 
the  noted  scene  in  the  Temple  Garden,  London, 
where  the  emblem  of  the  Yorkists  (a  white  rose) 
and  that  of  the  Lancastrians  (a  red  rose)  is  chosen. 
Richard  Plantagenet  plucks  a  white  rose  and  the 
Earl  of  Somerset  a  red  rose  from  rose-bushes  that 
are  still  growing  and  blooming  in  the  same  spot,  as 
they  did  when  Shakespeare  imagined  the  scene  in 
"King  Henry  VI."  1 

In  Shakespeare's  day  the  rose  was  enormously 
cultivated.  In  the  gardens  of  Ely  Place,  the  home 
of  Queen  Elizabeth's  dashing  lord  chancellor, 

'Part  I,  Act  II,  Scene  IV. 


156      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

twenty  bushels  of  roses  were  gathered  annually — a 
good  deal  for  the  time. 

"About  thirty  species  of  roses,"  writes  Edmund 
Gosse,  "were  known  to  the  Elizabethan  gardeners, 
and  most  of  them  did  particularly  well  in  London 
until  in  the  reign  of  James  I,  when  the  increasing 
smoke  of  coal-fires  exterminated  the  most  lovely  and 
the  most  delicate  species,  the  double  yellow  rose. 
Things  grew  rapidly  worse  in  this  respect,  until 
Parkinson  in  despair,  cried  out :  'Neither  herb,  nor 
tree,  will  prosper  since  the  use  of  sea-coal.'  Up  to 
that  time  in  London,  and  afterwards  in  country- 
places,  the  rose  preserved  its  vogue.  It  was  not 
usually  grown  for  pleasure,  since  the  petals  had  a 
great  commercial  value;  there  was  a  brisk  trade  in 
dried  roses  and  a  precious  sweet  water  was  distilled 
from  the  damask  rose.  The  red  varieties  of  the  rose 
were  considered  the  best  medicinally,  and  they  pro- 
duced that  rose  syrup  which  was  so  widely  used  both 
as  a  cordial  and  as  an  aperient.  The  fashion  for 
keeping  potpourri  in  dwelling-rooms  became  so 
prevalent  that  the  native  gardens  could  not  supply 
enough,  and  dried  yellow  roses  became  a  recognized 
import  from  Constantinople.  We  must  think  of  the 
parlors  of  the  ladies  who  saw  Shakespeare's  plays 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  157 

performed  for  the  first  time  as  all  redolent  with  the 
perfume  of  dried,  spiced  and  powdered  rose-leaves.'* 
In  "Sonnet  LIV"  Shakespeare  says: 

The  rose  looks  fair,  but  fairer  it  we  deem 

For  that  sweet  odor  which  doth  in  it  live. 

The  canker-blooms  have  full  as  deep  a  dye 

As  the  perfumed  tincture  of  the  roses, 

Hang  on  such  thorns  and  play  as  wantonly 

When  summer's  breath  their  masked  buds  discloses. 

But,  for  their  virtue  only  is  their  show, 

They  live  unwoo'd,  and  unrespected  fade; 

Die  to  themselves.     Sweet  roses  do  not  so; 

Of  their  sweet  deaths  are  sweetest  odors  made. 

For  twenty-seven  centuries — and  more — the  rose 
has  been  considered  queen  of  flowers.  Her  perfume, 
her  color,  her  elegance,  and  her  mystic  fascination 
have  won  all  hearts.  Shakespeare  says :  "A  rose  by 
any  other  name  would  smell  as  sweet."  In  one  sense 
that  is  true ;  but  we  would  not  be  willing  to  try  an- 
other title,  for  the  very  word  rose  is  a  beautiful  one 
and  conjures  up  a  particular  and  very  special  vision 
of  sweetness  and  beauty. 

Thousands  and  thousands  of  poems  have  been 
written  in  praise  of  this  flower,  ever  since  Sappho 
sang  to  her  lyre  the  words  "Ho!  the  rose!  Ho!  the 
rose!" 


158      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

Sir  Henry  Wotton  wrote : 

You  Violets  that  first  appear, 
By  your  pure  purple  mantles  known, 
Like  the  proud  virgins  of  the  year, 
As  if  the  Spring  were  all  your  own, 
What  are  you  when  the  Rose  is  blown  *? 

And  Hood  sang : 

The  Cowslip  is  a  country  wench; 

The  Violet  is  a  nun; 
But  I  will  woo  the  dainty  Rose 

The  queen  of  every  one. 

And  Shelley: 

And  the  rose,  like  a  nymph  to  the  bath  addrest, 
Which  unveiled  the  depths  of  her  glowing  breast, 
Till,  fold  after  fold,  to  the  fainting  air, 
The  soul  of  her  beauty  and  love  laid  bare. 

i 
Shelley's  "fold  after  fold"  reminds  us  that  Ruskin 

points  out  that  one  of  the  rose's  beauties  is  that  her 
petals  make  shadows  over  and  over  again  of  their 
own  loveliness. 

Dr.  Forbes  Watson  has,  perhaps,  been  the  most 
successful  of  all  writers  in  putting  into  words  the 
reasons  why  the  rose  has  such  power  over  mankind : 

"The  flower  has  something  almost  human  about 
it — warm,  breathing,  soft  as  the  fairest  cheek;  of 
white,  no  longer  snowy  like  the  narcissus,  but  flushed 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  159 

with  hues  of  animating  pink;  either  flower,  white 
or  red,  being  alike  symbolical  of  glowing,  youthful 
passion." 

In  the  East  the  rose  gardens  have  been  famed  for 
centuries.  The  flower  is  said  to  burst  into  bloom  at 
the  voice  of  the  nightingale.  The  poet  Jami  says: 
"You  may  place  a  handful  of  fragrant  herbs  of 
flowers  before  the  nightingale,  yet  he  wishes  not  in 
his  constant  heart  for  more  than  the  sweet  breath  of 
his  beloved  rose."  It  is  said  that  an  Arabian  doctor 
discovered  the  recipe  for  rose-water  in  the  Tenth 
Century;  but  the  perfume  may  be  older  than  that. 
The  Rosa  c en ti folia  is  the  blossom  used.  The  In- 
dians and  Persians  have  known  how  to  make  their 
attar  of  rose  for  centuries. 

A  large  volume  would  be  required  to  chronicle  the 
romance  of  the  rose,  for  it  is  the  flower  of  love, 
beauty,  and  poetry.  It  is  dedicated  to  Venus,  and 
Venus  is  frequently  represented  as  wearing  a  crown 
of  roses.  Her  son,  Eros  or  Cupid,  is  also  wreathed 
and  garlanded  with  roses.  Cupid  gave  a  rose  to 
Harpocrates,  god  of  silence — hence  the  rose  is  also 
the  symbol  of  silence.  "Under  the  rose,"  a  saying 
that  expresses  silence  and  secrecy,  is  derived  from 
this  legend,  A  siren  holding  a  rose  stands  among 
the  sculptured  ruins  of  Psestum.  Roses  and  myrtle 


160      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

adorned  the  brides  of  Greece  and  Rome.  The  pro- 
fusion of  roses  used  for  decorations  at  feasts  astounds 
us  even  to-day.  No  epicure  was  satisfied  with  the 
cup  of  Falernian  wine  unless  it  were  perfumed  with 
roses;  and  the  Spartan  soldiers  at  the  Battle  of 
Cirrha  actually  refused  wine  because  it  was  not  per- 
fumed with  roses.  This  makes  us  wonder  if  those 
Spartan  mothers,  of  whom  we  hear  so  much,  were 
really  as  severe  as  they  are  reputed  to  have  been.  Red 
roses  were  dedicated  to  Jupiter;  damask  roses  to 
Venus ;  and  white  roses  to  Diana  or  the  moon.  The 
rose  was  given  to  the  Virgin  Mary  as  her  particular 
flower;  and  many  Italian  painters  as  well  as  Flem- 
ish, Spanish,  and  German,  have  painted  the  Ma- 
donna of  the  Rose,  the  Madonna  of  the  Rose-hedge, 
the 'Madonna  of  the  Rose-bush,  and  the  Madonna 
of  the  Rose-garden.  The  rosary,  introduced  by  St. 
Dominick  in  commemoration  of  his  having  been 
shown  a  chaplet  of  roses  by  the  Virgin,  originally 
consisted  of  rose-leaves  pressed  into  balls. 

II 

"Lilies  of  All  Kinds" 

THE  LILY  (Lilium  candidum).   The  fact  that 
Perdita  calls  for  "lilies  of  all  kinds"  shows  that 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  161 

Shakespeare  loved  one  of  the  most  beautiful  families 
of  flowers  that  grace  the  earth,  and  knew  the  many 
varieties  that  grew  in  the  English  gardens  of  his 
day,  which  include  the  Lily-of-the-Valley  (in  his 
time  called  Lily  Conally)  ;  the  splendid  yellow  lilies; 
the  red  martagon  and  spotted  martagon  (tiger- 
lilies)  ;  as  well  as  the  pure  white  lily.  Parkinson, 
who  writes  so  beautifully  of  plants  and  blossoms, 
did  not  neglect  the  lily.  He  says:  "The  lily  is 
the  most  stately  flower  among  many,"  and  he  directs 
attention  "to  the  wonderful  variety  of  lilies  known 
to  us  in  these  days,  much  more  so  than  in  former 
times." 

First  on  the  list  comes  the  white  lily,  which  has 
always  been  regarded  from  time  immemorial  as  the 
most  beautiful  member  of  this  most  beautiful 
family,  a  picture  of  purity  with  its  white  silken 
petals  exquisitely  set  off  by  the  yellow  anthers  and 
breathing  such  delicious  fragrance.  This  is  the  lily 
of  which  Shelley  sings : 

And  the  wand-like  lily,  which  lifteth  up 
As  a  Maenad,  its  moonlight  colored  cup, 
Till  the  fiery  star  which  is  its  eye 
Gazed  through  clear  dew  on  the  tender  sky. 

"The  ordinary  White  Lily,  Lilium  candidum" 
writes  Parkinson,  "scarce  needeth  any  description, 


162      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

it  is  so  well  known  and  so  frequent  in  every  garden. 
The  stalk  is  of  a  blackish  green  color,  having  many 
fair  broad  and  long  green  leaves.  The  flower  stands 
upon  long  green  footstalks,  of  a  fair  white  color, 
with  a  long  pointell  in  the  middle  and  white  chives 
tipt  with  yellow  pendants  about  it.  The  smell  is 
something  heady  and  strong.  It  is  called  Lilium 
album,  the  White  Lily,  by  most  writers;  but  by 
poets,  Rosa  Junonis,  Juno's  Rose." 

How  perfect  is  this  flower !  Texture,  form,  hue, 
sheen,  perfume — all  express  exquisite  loveliness. 
The  lily  refreshes  us  with  its  cool  beauty  and  its 
purity  and  lifts  our  thoughts  upward  to  heaven. 

Gerard  describes  eight  lilies  in  his  "Herbal" 
(1597),  all  of  which  were  known  to  Shakespeare. 
Certainly  among  Perdita's  flowers  was  the  martagon, 
which  takes  its  name  from  the  Italian  martagone, 
meaning  a  Turk's  turban.  This  lily  is  also  called 
"Chalcedonian"  and  "Scarlet  martagon"  and 
"Turk's  Cap,"  by  Parkinson,  who  tells  us  that  the 
"Lilium  rubrum  Byzantinum  Martagon  Constan- 
tinopolitanum,  or  the  red  martagon  of  Constanti- 
nople, is  become  so  common  everywhere  and  so  well 
known  to  all  lovers  of  these  delights  that  I  shall 
seem  unto  them  to  lose  time  to  bestow  many  lines 
upon  it;  yet  because  it  is  so  fair  a  flower  and  was 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  163 

at  the  first  so  highly  esteemed,  it  deserveth  its  place 
and  commendations.  It  riseth  out  of  the  ground 
bearing  a  round,  brownish  stalk,  beset  with  many 
fair  green  leaves  confusedly  thereon,  but  not  so 
broad  as  the  common  White  Lily,  upon  the  top 
whereof  stand  one,  two,  or  three,  or  more,  flowers 
upon  long  footstalks,  which  hang  down  their  heads 
and  turn  up  their  leaves  again,  of  an  excellent  red 
crimson  color  and  sometimes  paler,  having  a  long 
pointel  in  the  middle  compassed  with  whitish  chives, 
tipt  with  loose  yellow  pendants,  of  a  reasonable  good 
scent,  but  somewhat  faint.  We  have  another  of  this 
kind,  the  Red  Spotted  Martagon  of  Constantinople, 
that  groweth  somewhat  greater  and  higher  with  a 
larger  flower,  and  of  a  deeper  color,  spotted  with 
divers  black  spots,  or  streaks,  and  lines,  as  is  to  be 
seen  in  Mountain  Lilies." 

The  martagon  belongs  to  the  tiger-lily  class, 
whose  characteristics  have  been  so  imaginatively 
brought  out  by  Thomas  Bailey  Aldrich : 

I    like   the    chaliced    lilies, 
The  heavy  Eastern  lilies, 
The  gorgeous  tiger-lilies, 
That  in  our  garden  grow. 

For  they  are  tall  and  slender; 

Their  mouths  are  dashed  with  carmine, 


164      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

And  when  the  wind  sweeps  by  them, 

On  their  emerald  stalks 

They  bend  so  proud  and  graceful, — 

They  are  Circassian  women, 

The   favorites  of  the  Sultan, 

Adown  our  garden  walks. 

And  when  the  rain  is  falling, 

I  sit  beside  the  window 

And  watch  them  glow  and  glisten, — 

How  they  burn  and  glow ! 

O  for  the  burning  lilies, 

The  tender  Eastern  lilies 

The  gorgeous   tiger-lilies, 

That  in  our  garden  grow. 

Shakespeare  has  many  beautiful  passages  concern- 
ing the  lily.  He  often  refers  to  its  whiteness.  He 
considers  it  as  impossible  a  task  "to  paint  the  lily" 
as  it  is  "to  gild  refined  gold,"  or  "to  throw  a  per- 
fume on  the  violet." 

How  the  lily  was  loved  by  the  ancients!  The 
Egyptians  adored  it;  the  Persians  named  cities  for 
it;  the  Hebrews  worshiped  it.  The  Greeks  and 
Romans  called  the  lily  Juno's  flower,  and  fancied 
that  the  flower  owed  its  very  existence  to  drops  of 
milk  spilled  on  earth  from  Juno's  white  breast  when 
she  was  nursing  the  infant  Hercules. 

The  church  consecrated  the  lily  to  the  Virgin 
Mary.  It  was  her  flower  as  Queen  of  Heaven.  In 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  165 

many  old  religious  paintings  of  the  Annunciation, 
the  Angel  Gabriel,  appearing  before  the  Virgin, 
usually  holds  the  "Annunciation  Lily,"  or  "Ma- 
donna Lily"  in  his  hand.  Joseph's  staff  was  said  to 
have  blossomed  into  lilies,  and  it  is  the  white  lily 
that  is  usually  represented  in  this  connection. 

Wonderful  family  this  lily  tribe,  flowers  of  the 
grand  style  and  haughty  demeanor!  Ruskin  en- 
lightens us  as  to  why  it  is  every  one  loves  them  and 
why  they  are  entwined  with  many  of  our  thoughts 
of  art  and  life : 

"Under  the  name  of  Drosida  come  plants  delight- 
ing in  interrupted  moisture — moisture  which  comes 
either  partially,  or  at  certain  seasons — into  dry 
ground.  They  are  not  water-plants,  but  the  signs 
of  water  resting  among  dry  places.  In  the  Drosida 
the  floral  spirit  passes  into  the  calix  also,  and  the 
entire  flower  becomes  a  six-rayed  star,  bursting  out 
of  the  stem  laterally,  as  if  it  were  the  first  of  flowers 
and  had  made  its  way  to  the  light  by  force  through 
the  unwilling  green.  They  are  often  required  to 
retain  moisture,  or  nourishment,  for  the  future  blos- 
som through  long  times  of  drought;  and  this  they 
do  in  bulbs  underground,  of  which  some  become  a 
rude  and  simple,  but  most  wholesome  food  for  man. 

"Then  the  Drosida  are  divided  into  five  great 


166      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

orders — lilies,  asphodels,  amaryllis,  irids  and  rushes. 
No  tribes  of  flowers  have  had  so  great,  so  varied,  or 
so  healthy  an  influence  on  man  as  this  great  group 
of  Drosida,  depending  not  so  much  on  the  white- 
ness of  some  of  their  blossoms,  or  the  radiance  of 
others,  as  on  the  strength  and  delicacy  of  the  sub- 
stance of  their  petals;  enabling  them  to  take  forms 
of  faultless,  elastic  curvature,  either  in  cups,  as  the 
Crocus,  or  expanding  bells,  as  the  true  Lily,  or  heath- 
like  bells,  as  the  Hyacinth,  or  bright  and  perfect 
stars,  like  the  Star  of  Bethlehem,  or,  when  they  are 
affected  by  the  strange  reflex  of  the  serpent  nature 
which  forms  the  labiate  group  of  all  flowers,  clos- 
ing into  forms  of  exquisitely  fantastic  symmetry  as 
the  Gladiolus.  Put  by  their  side  their  Nereid  sisters, 
the  Water-lilies,  and  you  have  in  them  the  origin 
of  the  loveliest  forms  of  ornamental  design  and  the 
most  powerful  floral  myths  yet  recognized  among 
human  spirits,  born  by  the  streams  of  the  Ganges, 
Nile,  Arno  and  Avon. 

"For  consider  a  little  what  each  of  those  five 
tribes  has  been  to  the  spirit  of  man.  First,  in  their 
nobleness ;  the  Lilies  gave  the  Lily  of  the  Annuncia- 
tion; the  Asphodels,  the  flower  of  the  Elysian 
Fields;  the  Irids,  the  fleur-de-lys  of  chivalry;  and 
the  Amaryllis,  Christ's  lily  of  the  fields;  while  the 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  167 

Rush,  trodden  always  under  foot,  became  the 
emblem  of  humility.  Then  take  each  of  the  tribes 
and  consider  the  extent  of  their  lower  influence. 
Perditds  'the  Crown  Imperial,  lilies  of  all  kinds,' 
are  the  first  tribe,  which,  giving  the  type  of  perfect 
purity  in  the  Madonna's  Lily,  have,  by  their  lovely 
form,  influenced  the  entire  decorative  design  of  Ital- 
ian sacred  art;  while  ornament  of  war  was  con- 
tinually enriched  by  the  curves  of  the  triple  petals  of 
the  Florentine  'giglio'  and  the  French  fleur-de-lys; 
so  that  it  is  impossible  to  count  their  influence  for 
good  in  the  Middle  Ages,  partly  as  a  symbol  of 
womanly  character  and  partly  of  the  utmost  bright- 
ness and  refinement  in  the  city  which  was  the  'flower 
of  cities.'  " 

Astrologers  placed  the  lily  under  the  moon;  and 
the  flower  is  certainly  dreamy  enough  and  celestial 
enough  to  be  under  the  rule  of  Diana,  or  Astarte. 

Ill 

Crown-Imperial  and  Flower-de-luce 

THE  CROWN-IMPERIAL  (Fritillaria  im- 
peralis)  is  mentioned  by  Perdita.  A  native  of 
Persia,  Afghanistan,  and  Kashmir,  it  was  taken  to 
Constantinople,  and  thence  to  Vienna  in  1576. 


168      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

Finally  it  came  to  England  with  other  luxuries  of 
the  Renaissance.  Gerard  had  it  in  his  garden,  and 
describes  it  as  follows: 

"Out  of  a  tuft  of  narrow  leaves  the  stem  rises 
and  terminates  in  a  second  tuft  immediately  below 
which  is  a  ring  of  large  tulip-like  flowers,  pendulous 
and  golden  yellow.  Looking  into  the  bells  at  the 
base  of  every  petal  is  a  white  and  concave  nectary 
from  which  hangs  a  drop  of  honey  that  shines  like 
a  pearl.  In  the  bottom  of  each  of  the  bells  there 
is  placed  six  drops  of  most  clear  shining  water,  in 
taste  like  sugar  resembling  in  shew  fair  Orient 
pearls,  the  which  drops  if  you  take  away  there  do 
immediately  appear  the  like.  Notwithstanding  if 
they  may  be  suffered  to  stand  still  in  the  flower  ac- 
cording to  his  own  nature,  they  will  never  fall  away, 
no,  not  if  you  strike  the  plant  until  it  be  broken." 

The  Crown-Imperial  was,  perhaps,  of  all  choice 
"outlandish  flowers"  the  choicest.  Parkinson  gives 
it  the  first  place  in  the  Garden  of  Delight,  opening 
his  great  book,  "Paradisus  Terrestris,"  with  an  ac- 
count of  it : 

"The  Crown  Imperial,"  he  writes,  "for  his  stately 
beautifulness  deserveth  the  first  place  in  this  our 
Garden  of  Delight.  The  stalk  riseth  up  three,  or 
four,  foot  high,  being  great,  round  and  of  a 


MARTAGON    LILIES,   WARLEY,    ENGLAND 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  169 

purplish  color  at  the  bottom,  but  green  above,  beset 
from  thence  to  the  middle  thereof  with  many  long 
and  broad  green  leaves  of  our  ordinary  white  lily, 
but  somewhat  shorter  and  narrower,  confusedly 
without  order,  and  from  the  middle  is  bare,  or  naked, 
without  leaves  for  a  certain  space  upwards,  and  then 
beareth  four,  six,  or  ten  flowers,  more  or  less,  accord- 
ing to  the  age  of  the  plant  and  the  fertility  of  the 
soil  where  it  groweth.  The  buds  at  the  first  appear- 
ing are  whitish,  standing  upright  among  a  bush,  or 
tuft,  of  green  leaves,  smaller  than  those  below  and 
standing  above  the  flowers.  After  a  while  they  turn 
themselves  and  hang  downward  every  one  upon  his 
own  footstalk,  round  about  the  great  stem,  or  stalk, 
sometimes  of  an  even  depth  and  other  while  one 
lower,  or  higher,  than  another,  which  flowers  are 
near  the  form  of  an  ordinary  Lily,  yet  somewhat 
lesser  and  closer,  consisting  of  six  leaves  of  an 
orange-color  striped  with  purplish  lines  and  veins, 
which  add  a  great  grace  to  the  flowers.  At  the  bot- 
tom of  the  flower,  next  unto  the  stalk,  every  leaf 
thereof  hath  on  the  outside  a  certain  bunch,  or 
eminence,  of  a  dark  purplish  color,  and  on  the  inside 
there  lieth  in  those  hollow  bunched  places  certain 
clear  drops  of  water  like  unto  pearls,  of  a  very  sweet 
taste,  almost  like  sugar.  In  the  midst  of  each  flower 


iyo      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

is  a  long  white  stile,  or  pointell,  forked,  or  divided, 
at  the  end  and  six  white  chives,  tipt  with  yellowish 
pendants,  standing  close  above  it.  After  the  flowers 
are  past,  appear  six  square  seed  vessels,  standing 
upright,  winged  as  it  were,  or  weltered  on  the  edges, 
yet  seeming  but  three-square,  because  each  couple 
of  those  welted  edges  are  joined  closer  together, 
wherein  are  contained  broad,  flat  and  thin  seeds  of  a 
pale  brownish  color,  like  unto  other  lilies,  but  much 
greater  and  thicker  also. 

"This  plant  was  first  brought  from  Constantinople 
into  these  Christian  countries,  and,  by  relation  of 
some  that  sent  it,  groweth  naturally  in  Persia.  It 
flowereth  most  commonly  in  the  end  of  March,  if 
the  weather  be  mild,  and  springeth  not  out  of  the 
ground  until  the  end  of  February,  or  beginning  of 
March,  so  quick  it  is  in  the  springing.  The  head 
with  seeds  are  ripe  in  the  end  of  May.  It  is  of  some 
called  Lilium  Perticum,  or  Persian  Lily;  but  be- 
cause we  have  another,  which  is  more  usually  called 
by  that  name,  I  had  rather,  with  Alphonsus  Pancius, 
the  Duke  of  Florence,  his  physician  (who  first  sent 
the  figure  thereof  unto  Mr.  John  de  Brancion)  call 
it  Corona  Imperialis,  the  Crown  Imperial." 

There  is  a  legend  that  the  Crown-Imperial  grew 
in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  where  it  was  often 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  171 

admired  by  Jesus  Christ.  At  that  time,  according 
to  the  story,  the  flowers  were  white  and  erect  on  the 
stalk.  During  the  night  of  the  agony  when  Our 
Lord  passed  through  the  garden,  this  flower  was  the 
only  one  that  did  not  bow  its  head.  Later  the  proud 
flower  bent  its  head  and  tears  of  sorrow  filled  its  cup. 
Ever  since  that  time  the  plant  has  continued  to  bow 
in  sorrow  and  its  tears  flow  forever. 

Dr.  Forbes  Watson  loves  the  flower  with  its  "bold, 
decided  outlines."  His  description  is  all  too  short. 
"The  tall  stem,"  he  says,  "rises  like  a  mast  through 
the  lower  leaves,  is  thence  for  a  short  space  bare  till 
it  is  topped  by  the  crowning  sheaf  of  leaf-swords, 
out  of  which  droop  so  gracefully  the  large  yellow 
wax-like  bells.  Here  every  line  seems  to  pierce  like 
an  arrow,  the  composition  is  so  clear  and  masterly." 

The  Crown-Imperial  appears  in  the  celebrated 
book  called  "Guirlande  de  Julie,"  which  the  Due  de 
Montausier  gave  on  New  Year's  Day,  1634,  to  n^s 
bride,  Julie  de  Rambouillet.  This  was  a  magnifi- 
cent album:  every  leaf  bore  a  beautifully  painted 
flower  and  a  verse  descriptive  of  it  or  in  praise 
of  it  contributed  by  different  artists  and  poets. 
Chapelain  chose  the  Crown-Imperial  for  his  theme, 
pretending  that  it  sprang  from  the  blood  of  Gustavus 
Adolphus  of  Sweden,  who,  not  being  able  to  offer 


172      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

his  hand  to  Julie,  came  to  her  in  the  guise  of  this 
flower. 

FLOWER-DE-LUCE  (Iris  pseudacorus).  Per- 
ditd s  mention  of  "lilies  of  all  kinds,  the  flower-de- 
luce  being  one,"  shows  that  Shakespeare  classed  this 
flower  among  the  lilies.  So  did  the  botanists  of  his 
time.  Symbol  of  eloquence  and  power,  the  Egyp- 
tians placed  the  purple  iris  upon  the  brow  of  the 
Sphinx.  The  scepter  of  their  monarchs  was  adorned 
with  this  flower,  its  three  petals  representing  faith, 
wisdom,  and  valor.  The  kings  of  Babylon  and 
Assyria  also  bore  it  on  their  scepters.  The  Greeks 
laid  the  iris  on  the  tombs  of  women  because  they 
believed  that  Iris  guided  dead  women  to  the  Elysian 
Fields.  Although  the  iris  was  also  dedicated  to 
Juno,  it  is  more  particularly  the  flower  of  Iris,  lovely 
Iris,  one  of  the  beautiful  Oceanides,  daughters  of 
Ocean,  and  messenger  of  the  gods,  who  whenever  she 
wished  to  descend  upon  the  earth  threw  her  rainbow 
scarf  across  the  sky  and  with  all  its  prismatic  colors 
glistening  in  her  perfumed  wings  descended  from 
heaven  to  earth  upon  the  graceful  bow  that  joins 
the  seen  and  the  unseen  worlds.  The  purple,  yel- 
low, orange,  and  blue  tints  of  the  rainbow  live  again 
in  the  petals  and  drooping  lips  called  "falls."  What 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  173 

a  flower  of  charm,  mystery,  and  majesty!  Sphinx 
of  the  flower  world !  The  iris  was  extremely  popu- 
lar in  Shakespeare's  day.  Parkinson  gives  a  great 
many  "Flower-de-luces,  or  Iris"  in  his  monumental 
work.  We  find  "the  Purple,  the  Blue,  the  Purple- 
striped,  the  Peach-colored,  the  White,  the  White- 
striped,  the  Parti-colored,  the  Milk- White,  the  Sil- 
ver color,  the  White  with  Yellow  Falls,  the  Straw 
color,  the  Spanish  Yellow,  the  Purple  and  Yellow, 
the  Purple  or  Murrey,  the  Great  Turkic,  the  Com- 
mon Purple,  the  Great  Dalmatian,  the  Yellow  of 
Tripoli,  the  Double  Blew,  the  Double  Purple,  the 
Purple  Dwarf,"  and  many  others  which  prove  how 
popular  this  flower  was  in  Tudor  and  Stuart  gar- 
dens, and  what  splendid  specimens  were  known  to 
the  people  of  Shakespearian  times.  Parkinson  also 
adds:  "The  dried  root  called  Orris  is  of  much  use 
to  make  sweet  powders,  or  other  things,  to  perfume 
apparel  or  linen." 

The  fleur-de-lis  early  became  the  symbol  of 
France.  At  the  proclamation  of  a  new  king  the 
Franks  always  placed  a  living  flower,  or  flag,  as  it 
was  called,  in  his  hand  as  the  symbol  of  power.  Be- 
cause his  wife,  St.  Clotilde,  had  a  vision  of  the  iris, 
Clovis  erased  the  three  frogs  on  his  shield  and  sub- 


174      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

stituted  the  iris.  In  consequence  also  of  a  dream, 
Louis  VII  took  the  iris  for  his  device  in  1  137,  from 
which  it  became  known  as  the  fleur  de  Louis,  later 
contracted  into  fleur-de-lys  and  fleur-de-lis.  When 
Edward  III  claimed  the  crown  of  France  in  1340, 
he  quartered  the  old  French  shield  bearing  the  fleur- 
de-lis  with  his  English  lion.  The  iris,  or  flower-de- 
luce  (as  the  English  wrote  it),  did  not  disappear 
from  the  English  coat  of  arms  until  1801. 

Shakespeare  speaks  of  the  fleur-de-lis  in  the  Mes- 
senger's speech  in  "King  Henry  VI"  :  1 

Awake,   awake,   English  nobility! 
Let  not  sloth  dim  your  honors  new  begot: 
Cropp'd  are  the  flower-de-luces  in  your  arms; 
Of  England's  coat  one  half  is  cut  away. 

And  again  in  the  same  play  :  2 

LA  PUCELLE.    I  am  prepared  :  here  is  my  keen-edged  sword, 
Deck'd  with  fine  flower-de-luces  on  each  side. 

In  'The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor"  3  there  is  a 
humorous  play  upon  words  regarding  the  heraldic 
use  of  "the  flower-de-luce." 


I,  Act  I,  Scene  I. 
'Parti,  Act  I,  Scene  II. 
*  Act  I,  Scene  I. 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  175 

IV 

Fern  and  Honeysuckle 

THE  FERN  (Pteris  aquilina),  with  its  graceful 
and  beautifully  indented  leaves  and  its  peculiar 
acrid  scent,  delicious  to  many  persons,  would  be  ad- 
mitted into  the  Shakespeare  garden  because  of  its 
fantastic  qualities,  even  if  its  beauty  did  not  sue 
for  recognition.  The  fern  is  a  fairy  plant.  Accord- 
ing to  folk-lore  it  always  blossomed  at  twelve  o'clock 
on  St.  John's  eve  (June  21),  Midsummer  night. 
The  flower  is  described  as  a  wonderful  globe  of 
sapphire  blue  (according  to  other  stories  a  ruby 
red)  ;  and  in  a  few  moments  after  its  blossoming  the 
seed  appeared.  Oberon,  the  fairy  king,  was  sup- 
posed to  watch  for  the  precious  seed  so  that  he  might 
prevent  mortals  from  obtaining  it;  but  any  one 
fortunate  enough  to  gather  fern-seed  would  be  under 
the  protection  of  spirits,  and  would  be  enabled  to 
realize  all  his  fondest  desires.  Furthermore,  any 
one  who  wore  the  fern-seed  about  him  would  be  in- 
visible. Shakespeare  was  familiar  with  this  super- 
stition, for  he  makes  Gad  skill  exclaim  in  "King 
Henry  IV": *  "We  steal  as  in  a  castle,  cock-sure: 

'Part  I,  Act  II,  Scene  I. 


176      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

we  have  the  receipt  of  fern-seed,  we  walk  invis- 
ible." 

An  old  account  tells  us : 

The  fern  flowers  on  Midsummer  night  at  twelve  o'clock, 
and  drives  away  all  unclean  spirits.  First  of  all  it  puts 
forth  buds,  which  afterwards  expand,  then  open,  and 
finally  change  into  flowers  of  a  dark  red  hue.  At  midnight 
the  flower  opens  to  its  fullest  extent  and  illuminates  every- 
thing around.  But  at  that  precise  moment  a  demon  plucks 
it  from  its  stalk.  Whoever  wishes  to  procure  this  flower 
must  be  in  the  forest  before  midnight,  locate  himself  near 
the  fern  and  trace  a  circle  around  it.  When  the  Devii 
approaches  and  calls,  feigning  the  voice  of  a  parent,  sweet- 
heart, etc.,  no  attention  must  be  paid,  nor  must  the  head  be 
turned ;  for  if  it  is,  it  will  remain  so.  Whoever  becomes  the 
happy  possessor  of  the  flower  has  nothing  to  fear;  by  its 
means  he  can  recover  lost  treasure,  become  invisible,  rule  on 
earth  and  under  water  and  defy  the  Devil. 

Because  the  fern  was  so  powerful  against  evil 
and  because  it  was  sacred  to  St.  John  the  Baptist, 
witches  detested  it. 

Pliny  stated  that  the  fern  had  neither  flower  nor 
seed;  and  some  of  the  old  English  writers  believed 
this.  William  Turner,  however,  went  to  work  to 
investigate  matters.  In  his  famous  "Herbal,"  pub- 
lished in  1562,*  he  says: 

"Not  only  the  common  people  say  that  the  fern 

'See  p.  34. 


WILTON,   FROM  DE  CAUX 


WILTON  GARDENS  TO-DAY 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  177 

hath  seed,  but  that  was  also  the  opinion  of  a  Chris- 
tian physician  named  Hieronymus  Tragus,  who  doth 
not  only  say  that  the  fern  hath  seed,  but  writeth 
that  he  found  upon  Midsummer  Even  seed  upon 
brakes.1  Although  all  they  that  have  written  of 
herbs  have  affirmed  and  holden  that  the  brake  doth 
neither  seed  nor  fruit,  yet  have  I  divers  times  proved 
the  contrary,  which  thing  I  will  testify  here  in  this 
place  for  their  sakes  that  be  students  of  herbs.  I 
have,  four  years  together,  one  after  another,  upon 
the  Vigil  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  which  we  call  in 
English  Midsummer  Even,  sought  for  this  seed  of 
brakes  upon  the  night;  and,  indeed,  I  found  it  early 
in  the  morning  before  day-break.  The  seed  was 
small,  black,  and  like  unto  poppy.  I  went  about 
this  business  all  figures,  conjurings,  saunters,  charms, 
witchcraft,  sorceries,  taking  with  me  two  or  three 
honest  men.  When  I  sought  this  seed  all  the  vil- 
lage about  did  shine  with  bonfires  that  the  people 
made  there;  and  sometime  when  I  sought  the  seed 
I  found  it,  and  sometimes  I  found  it  not.  Some- 
time I  found  much  and  sometime  I  found  little ;  but 
what  should  be  the  cause  of  this  diversitie,  or  what 
Nature  meaneth  in  this  thing,  surely  I  cannot  tell." 
HONEYSUCKLE  (Lonicera  per  folium}.  De- 

1  Brake,  or  bracken,  fern. 


178      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

licious  name — honeysuckle !  And  truly  this  is  one  of 
"the  sweetest  flowers  for  scent  that  blows."  It  takes 
its  name  because  of  the  honey  dew  found  on  it,  so  old 
writers  say.  Romantic  is  its  other  name,  "wood- 
bine," suggesting  sylvan  spots  and  mossy  beds, 
where  cool-rooted  flowers  grow,  such  as  the  "nod- 
ding violet."  Shakespeare  knew  what  he  was  about 
when  he  enwreathed  and  entwined  Titania's  canopy 
with  "luscious  woodbine"  in  loving  union  with  the 
equally  delicious  eglantine.  The  honeysuckle  is  a 
flower  that  belongs  particularly  to  moonlight  and  to 
fairy-time. 

In  "Much  Ado  About  Nothing"  Hero  gives  the 
command : * 

Good  Margaret,  run  into  the  parlor  and  whisper  to  Beatrice 
And  bid  her  steal  into  the  pleached  bower, 
Where  honeysuckles  ripened  by  the  sun, 
Forbid  the  sun  to  enter. 

A  bower  covered  with  the  intense,  yet  subtle,  per- 
fume of  the  honeysuckle,  doubly  sweet  in  the  hot 
sun  that  had  ripened  the  blossoms  and  drawn  out 
their  inmost  sweetness,  was  just  the  place  to  send 
"saucy  Beatrice"  for  the  purpose  of  lighting  the 
flame  of  love  for  Benedick,  and  just  the  place  to 
send,  a  little  later,  the  cynical  Benedick  for  the  pur- 

1  Act  III,  Scene  I. 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  179 

pose  of  awakening  his  interest  in  the  "Lady  Dis- 
dain." Shakespeare  evidently  knew  that  the  honey- 
suckle is  the  flower  of  ardent  lovers,  and  so  he 
framed  his  pleached  bower  with  these  sweet-scented 
blossoms.  The  French  have  a  tender  name  for  the 
flower,  cher  feu  (dear  flame),  because  it  is  given  by 
lovers  to  one  another.  The  other  French  name, 
chevre  feuille,  is  derived  from  the  Latin  caprifolium 
(goat-leaf),  which  may  have  been  given  to  it  be- 
cause the  plant  leaps  over  high  rocks  and  precipices, 
where  only  goats  and  others  of  the  cloven-footed 
tribe  dare  venture.  The  honeysuckle  in  Shake- 
peare's  day  was  a  favorite  remedy  for  wounds  in 
the  head.  Witches  also  valued  it  for  their  sorcery. 
According  to  sorcerers  and  astrologers  this  plant  was 
under  the  rule  of  Mercury. 

It  is  hard  to  decide  when  the  honeysuckle  is  at  its 
best.  Whether  at  hot  noontide  when  the  clusters  of 
pale  buff  and  white  horns  of  plenty  tipped  with  their 
long,  feathery  threads  pour  their  incense  into  the 
golden  sunlight,  or  when  the  less  pungent,  but 
equally  intoxicating,  perfume  floats  upon  the  silvery 
blue  air  of  a  moonlit  night. 

"How  sweetly  smells  the  Honeysuckle,  in  the 
hush'd  night  as  if  the  world  were  one  of  utter  peace 
and  love  and  gentleness." 


i8o      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

Landor  has  thus  expressed  what  the  delicious 
honeysuckle  makes  us  feel. 

"The  monthly  honeysuckle,"  writes  Celia  Thax- 
ter,  "is  most  divine.  Such  vigor  of  growth  I  have 
never  seen  in  any  other  plant.  It  climbs  the  trellis 
on  my  piazza  and  spreads  its  superb  clusters  of 
flowers  from  time  to  time  all  summer.  Each  cluster 
is  a  triumph  of  beauty,  flat  in  the  center  and  curving 
out  to  the  blossoming  edge  in  joyous  lines  of  loveli- 
ness, most  like  a  wreath  of  heavenly  trumpets 
breathing  melodies  of  perfume  to  the  air.  Each 
trumpet  of  lustrous  white  deepens  to  a  yellower  tint 
in  the  center  where  the  small  ends  meet;  each  blos- 
som where  it  opens  at  the  lips  is  tipped  with  fresh 
pink;  each  sends  out  a  group  of  long  stamens  from 
its  slender  throat  like  rays  of  light;  and  the  whole 
circle  of  radiant  flowers  has  an  effect  of  gladness 
and  glory  indescribable:  the  very  sight  of  it  lifts 
and  refreshes  the  human  heart.  And  for  its  odor, 
it  is  like  the  spirit  of  romance,  sweet  as  youth's 
tender  dreams.  It  is  summer's  very  soul." 

Enchanting  season  of  fern  and  honeysuckle,  per- 
fumed stars  that  shine  through  green  leaves  and 
bells  that  send  forth  peals  of  incense  instead  of 
sound ! 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  181 

She  show'd  me  her  ferns  and  woodbine  sprays 

Fox-glove  and  jasmine  stars, 
A  mist  of  blue  in  the  beds,  a  blaze 

Of  red  in  the  celadon  jars, 
And  velvety  bees  in  convolvulus  beds 

And  roses  of  bountiful  June — 
Oh,   who  would   think  that  the   summer   spells 

Could  die  so  soon  ?  1 


Carnations  and  Gilliflowers 

CARNATIONS  (Dianthus  caryophyllus).  Per- 
dita  calls  carnations  and  streak' d  gilliflowers  "the 
fairest  flowers  o'  the  season."  Carnation  was  origi- 
nally spelled  coronation,  because  the  flower  was  used 
to  make  crowns,  garlands,  and  wreaths.  In  the  days 
of  Pliny  it  was  called  dianthus,  or  flower  of  Jove, 
and  was  also  worn  in  wreaths  and  crowns.  From 
Chaucer  we  know  that  it  was  cultivated  as  the 
"Clove  Gilliflower"  in  English  gardens;  and  be- 
cause it  was  used  to  add  a  spicy  flavor  to  wine  and 
ale,  it  acquired  the  popular  name  of  "sops  in  wine." 
Hence  Spenser  in  his  "Shepherd's  Calendar"  sings: 

Bring  hither  the  pink  and  purple  Columbine 

With  Gillyflowers; 
1  Locker-Lampson. 


182      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

Bring  Coronations  and  Sops-in-wine 
Worn  of  paramours. 

And  again: 

Youth's  folk  now  flocken  everywhere 
To  gather  May  baskets  and  smelling  Brere,1 
And  home  they  hasten  the  posts  to  dight 
And   all  the  kirk  pillars   in  daylight 
With  Hawthorn  budes  and  sweet  Eglantine 
And  garlands  of  Roses  and  Sops-in-wine. 

"Its  second  specific  name,"  writes  Ellacombe, 
"Caryophyllus,  i.  e.,  nut-leaved,  seems  at  first  very 
inappropriate  for  a  grassy-leaved  plant;  but  the 
name  was  first  given  to  the  Indian  Clove  tree  and 
from  it  transferred  to  the  Carnation  on  account  of 
its  fine  clove  scent.  Its  popularity  as  an  English 
plant  is  shown  by  its  many  names — Pink,  Carna- 
tion, Gilliflower  (an  easily-traced  and  well-ascer- 
tained corruption  from  Caryophyllus),  Clove 
Picotee  2  and  Sops-in-wine  from  the  flowers  being 
used  to  flavor  wine  and  beer. 

"There  is  an  historical  interest  also  in  the  flowers. 
All  our  Carnations,  Picotees  and  Cloves  came  origi- 
nally from  the  single  Dianthus  caryophyllus.  This 
is  not  a  true  British  plant;  but  it  holds  a  place  in 

1  Brier. 

a  From  the  French  picot,  a  pinked  edge.  We  still  use  the  word 
"pinked"  for  a  cut  edge,  and  "pinking-iron"  is  the  word  for  that 
with  v/hich  the  edge  is  cut. 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  183 

the  English  flora,  being  naturalized  on  Rochester 
and  other  castles.  It  is  abundant  in  Normandy; 
and  I  found  it  in  1874  covering  the  old  castle  of 
Falaise,  in  which  William  the  Conqueror  was  bora. 
I  have  found  that  it  grows  on  the  old  castles  of 
Dover,  Deal  and  Cardiff,  all  of  them  of  Norman 
construction,  as  was  Rochester,  which  was  built  by 
Gandulf,  the  special  friend  of  William.  Its  oc- 
currence on  these  several  Norman  castles  makes  it 
very  possible  that  it  was  introduced  by  the  Norman 
builders,  perhaps  as  a  pleasant  memory  of  their 
Norman  homes,  though  it  may  have  been  inci- 
dentally introduced  with  the  Norman  (Caen)  stone, 
of  which  parts  of  the  castles  are  built.  How  soon 
it  became  a  florist's  flower  we  do  not  know;  but  it 
must  have  been  early,  for  in  Shakespeare's  time  the 
sorts  of  Cloves,  Carnations  and  Pinks  were  so  many 
that  Gerard  says :  ' A  great  and  large  volume  would 
not  suffice  to  write  of  every  one  at  large  in  particu- 
lar, considering  how  infinite  they  are,  and  how  every 
year,  every  climate  and  country  bringeth  forth  new 
sorts  and  such  as  have  not  heretofore  been  written 
of.'  " 

Parkinson  speaks  of  "Carnations,  Pinks  and  Gillo- 
flowers."  "The  number  of  them  is  so  great,"  he  says, 
"that  to  give  several  descriptions  to  them  were  end- 


184      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

less."  He  therefore  mentions  a  few  favorites. 
Among  the  Carnations  we  find  the  Great  Harwich, 
or  old  English  Carnation;  the  Red,  or  Clove  Gillo- 
flower;  the  Yellow,  or  Orange  Tawny  Gilloflower; 
the  Gray  Hulo;  the  Red  Hulo;  the  Blue  Hulo;  the 
Grimelo,  or  Prince;  the  White  Carnation,  or  Deli- 
cate; the  French  Carnation;  the  Crystal,  or  Chrys- 
talline;  the  Fragrant;  the  Striped  Savage;  the  Ox- 
ford Carnation;  the  King's  Carnation;  the  Granado; 
the  Grand  Pere ;  and  the  Great  Lombard.  His  Gilli- 
flowers  include  the  Lustie  Gallant,  or  Westminster; 
the  Bristow  Blue;  the  Bristow  Blush;  the  Red 
Dover;  the  Fair  Maid  of  Kent,  or  Ruffling  Robin; 
the  Queen's  Gilloflower;  the  Dainty;  the  Brassill 
Gilloflower;  the  Turkie  Gilloflower;  the  Pale 
Pageant;  the  Sad  Pageant;  Master  Bradshawe  his 
Dainty  Lady;  John  Witte  his  great  Tawny  Gillo- 
flower; the  Striped  Tawny;  the  Marbled  Tawny; 
Master  Tuggie  his  Princess;  the  Feathered  Tawny; 
and  Master  Tuggie  his  Rose  Gilloflower.  The 
Tuggies  had  a  superb  garden  at  Westminster  in 
which  they  made  a  specialty  of  Carnations,  Gilli- 
flowers,  and  Pinks.  The  flower  upon  which  Parkin- 
son spends  his  most  loving  description  is  the  Great 
Harwich.  The  enthusiasm  of  this  old  flower- 
fancier,  who  writes  so  delightfully,  makes  us  feel 


A  GARDEN  OF  DELIGHT 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  185 

that  the  Great  Harwich  is  an  English  institution, 
just  as  important  as  the  Roast  Beef  of  Old  England 
or  the  English  Plum  Pudding. 

"I  take  this  goodly  great  old  English  Carnation," 
he  writes,  "as  a  precedent  for  the  description  of  all 
the  rest,  which  for  his  beauty  and  stateliness  is 
worthy  of  a  prime  place.  It  riseth  up  with  a  great 
thick,  round  stalk  divided  into  several  branches 
somewhat  thickly  set  with  joints,  and  at  every  joint 
two  long  green  (rather  than  whitish)  leaves,  turn- 
ing, or  winding,  two  or  three  times  round.  The 
flowers  stand  at  the  tops  of  the  stalks  in  long  great 
and  round  green  husks,  which  are  divided  into  five 
points,  out  of  which  rise  many  long  and  broad 
pointed  leaves,  deeply  jagged  at  the  ends,  set  in 
order,  round  and  comely,  making  a  gallant,  great 
double  Flower  of  a  deep  Carnation  color,  almost  red, 
spotted  with  many  blush  spots  and  streaks,  some 
greater  and  some  lesser,  of  an  excellent  soft,  sweet 
scent,  neither  too  quick,  as  many  others  of  these 
kinds  are,  nor  yet  too  dull;  and  with  two  whitish 
crooked  threads,  like  horns,  in  the  middle.  This 
kind  never  beareth  many  flowers;  but  as  it  is  slow 
in  growing,  so  in  bearing,  not  to  be  often  handled, 
which  showeth  a  kind  of  stateliness  fit  to  preserve 
the  opinion  of  magnificence." 


i86      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

What  a  delightful  idea  Parkinson  gives  of  the 
conscious  dignity  of  the  flower!  How  vividly  he 
brings  the  Great  Harwich  before  us  and  makes  us 
love  its  green  husk,  its  mottled  leaves,  its  rich  scent, 
and  its  curling  horns! 

"Gilloflowers,"  Parkinson  continues,  "grow  like 
unto  Carnations,  but  not  so  thick  set  with  joints  and 
leaves.  The  stalks  are  more,  the  leaves  are  narrower 
and  whiter,  for  the  most  part,  and  in  some,  do  as 
well  a  little  turn.1  The  flowers  are  smaller,  yet  very 
thick  and  double  in  most;  and  the  green  husks  in 
which  they  stand  are  smaller  likewise.  The  ends 
of  the  leaves  are  dented  and  jagged.  Some  also  have 
two  small  white  threads,  crooked  at  the  ends  like 
horns  in  the  middle  of  the  flower;  others  have  none. 

"Most  of  our  later  writers  do  call  them  by  one 
general  name,  Caryophyllus  sativus  and  Flos 
Caryophyllus,  adding  thereto  maximus  when  we 
mean  Carnations,  and  major  when  we  would  ex- 
press Gilloflowers,  which  name  is  taken  from  Cloves 
in  that  the  scent  of  the  ordinary  red  Gilloflower  es- 
pecially doth  resemble  them.  Divers  other  several 
names  have  been  formerly  given  them,  as  Vetonica, 
or  Betonia  altera  or  Vetonica  altibus  and  coronaria, 
Herba  Tunica,  Viola  Damascena,  Ocellus  Damas- 

1  "Do  a  little  turn"  is  charming,  suggesting  a  quaint  little  waltz. 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  187 

cenus  and  Barbarieus.  Of  some  Cantabrica  Pliny. 
Some  think  they  were  unknown  to  the  Ancients  and 
some  would  have  them  be  Iphium  of  Theophrastus, 
whereof  he  maketh  mention  in  his  sixth  and  seventh 
chapters  of  his  sixth  book  among  garland  and  sum- 
mer flowers;  others  to  be  his  Dios  anthos  or  Louis 
flos.  We  call  them  in  English,  the  greatest  kinds, 
Carnations,  and  the  other  Gilloflowers  (quasi  July 
Flowers).  The  Red,  or  Clove,  Gilloflower  is  most 
used  in  physic  in  our  apothecaries'  shops  (none  of 
the  others  being  accepted,  or  used)  and  is  accounted 
to  be  a  very  cordial." 

Some  writers  say  that  the  gilliflower  was  a  cure 
for  pestilential  fevers.  Gerard  writes:  "Conserve 
made  of  the  flowers  of  the  Clove  Gilloflower  and 
sugar  is  exceeding  cordial  and  wonderfully  above 
measure,  doth  comfort  the  heart,  being  eaten  now 
and  then." 

The  Italian  painter,  Benvenuto  Tisio,  always 
painted  a  gilliflower  in  the  corner  of  his  pictures 
as  his  emblem,  from  which  he  is  always  called  // 
Garofalo. 

The  word  "pink"  is  derived  from  the  Dutch  word 
Pinkster  (Whitsuntide),  the  season  a  certain  "Whit- 
suntide Gilliflower"  was  in  bloom.  The  pink  was 
regarded  as  an  antidote  for  epilepsy;  and  a  vinegar 


i88      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

made  of  pinks  was  used  as  a  valued  remedy  for  the 
plague.  The  Elizabethans  also  thought  "if  a  con- 
serve be  composed  of  it,  it  is  the  life  and  delight  of 
the  human  race." 

Our  old  friend  Parkinson  describes  Pinks  as 
"wild,  or  small,  Gilloflowers,  some  bearing  single 
and  some  double  flowers,  some  smooth,  almost  with- 
out any  deep  dents  on  the  edges,  and  some  jagged, 
or,  as  it  were,  feathered.  Some  growing  upright, 
like  unto  Gilloflowers,  others  creeping,  or  spreading, 
some  of  one  color,  some  of  another,  and  many  of 
divers  colors." 

He  gives  Double  and  Single  Pinks,  Feathered  or 
Jagged  Pinks,  Star  Pinks,  Great  Sea  Gilloflower, 
or  Great  Thrift,  "often  used  in  gardens  to  empale 
or  border  a  knot,  because  it  abideth  green  in  Winter 
and  Summer  and  that  by  cutting  it  may  grow  thick 
and  be  kept  in  what  form  one  list."  We  also  find 
Single  Red  Sweet  John,  Single  White  Sweet  John; 
Double  Sweet  John;  Single  Red  Sweet  William; 
Double  Red  Sweet  William;  Speckled  Sweet  Wil- 
liam, or  London  Pride ;  Deep  Red,  or  Murrey  Color, 
Sweet  William;  and  Single  White  Sweet  William. 

"These,"  he  adds,  "are  all  generally  called 
Armerius  or  Armeria,  yet  some  have  called  them 
Vetonica  agrestis  and  others  Herb  a  Tunica,  Scar- 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  189 

latea  and  Carophyllus  silvestris.  We  do  in  Eng- 
lish, in  most  places  call  the  first,  or  narrower-leaved 
kinds,  Sweet  Johns  and  all  the  rest  Sweet  Wil- 
liams ;  yet  in  some  places  they  call  the  broader- 
leaved  kinds  that  are  not  spotted  Tolmeiners  and 
London  Tufts;  but  the  speckled  kind  is  termed  by 
our  English  Gentlewomen,  for  the  most  part,  Lon- 
don Pride.  We  have  not  known  of  any  of  these 
used  in  physic." 

These  spicy  pinks  and  luscious  July  flowers  and 
the  simple  Sweet-Johns  and  Sweet- Williams  as  well 
recall  the  lovely  lines  of  Matthew  Arnold: 

Soon  will  the  high  midsummer  pomp  come  on. 

Soon  will  the  musk  carnations  break  and  swell, 

Soon  shall  we  have  gold-dusted  Snapdragon, 
Sweet-william  with  his  homely  cottage  smell, 

And  stocks  in  fragrant  blow; 

Roses  that  down  the  alleys  shine  afar, 
And  open  jasmine  in  muffled  lattices 
And  groups  under  the  dreaming  garden  trees 

And  the  pale  moon  and  the  white  dreaming  star. 

VI 

Marigold  and  Larkspur 

MARIGOLD  (Calendula  officinalis).  Shake- 
speare was  devoted  to  the  marigold.  He  always 
speaks  of  it  with  poetic  rapture. 


190      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

The  marigold  that  goes  to  bed  with  the  sun 
And  with  him  rises,  weeping, 

is  Perdita's  idea  of  the  shining  flower,  which  in  these 
few  words  she  tells  us  closes  its  petals  in  the  eve- 
ning and  at  dawn  awakens  wet  with  dew.1 

Then  in  the  beautiful  dawn-song  in  "Cymbe- 
line"  2  "winking  Mary-buds"  remind  us  that  the 
gold-flower  is  consecrated  to  the  Virgin  Mary.  This 
song,  so  full  of  the  freshness  of  early  morning  and 
the  sweet  perfume  of  flowers  holding  in  their  deep 
cups  sufficient  dew  to  water  the  horses  of  the  sun 
just  appearing  above  the  horizon,  is  one  of  the  love- 
liest of  lyrics : 

Hark!    Hark!  the  lark  at  heaven's  gate  sings, 

And  Phoebus  'gins  arise, 
His  steeds  to  water  at  those  springs 

On   chalked   flowers   that  lies; 

And  winking  Mary-buds  begin  to  ope  their  golden  eyes ; 
With  everything  that  pretty  is — My  lady,  sweet,  arise : 

Arise,  arise. 

"The  Marygold,"  says  Lyte,  "hath  pleasant, 
bright  and  shining  yellow  flowers,  the  which  do  close 
at  the  setting  down  of  the  Sun  and  do  spread  and 
open  again  at  the  Sun  rising." 

And  Lupton  writes:    "Some  do  call  it  Spousa 

'"The  Winter's  Tale";  Act  IV,  Scene  III. 
'Act  II,  Scene  III. 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"          191 

Solis,  the  Spowse  of  the  Sun,  because  it  sleeps  and 
is  awakened  with  him." 

In  "The  Rape  of  Lucrece"  Shakespeare  also  men- 
tions the  flower : 

Her  eyes,  like  marigolds,  hath  sheathed  their  light 
And  canopied  in  darkness  sweetly  lay 
Till  they  might  open  to  adorn  the  day. 

Very  prettily  the  flower  is  introduced  in  Middle- 
ton  and  Rowley's  "Spanish  Gipsy" : 

You  the  Sun  to  her  must  play, 

She  to  you  the  Marigold, 

To  none  but  you  her  leaves  unfold. 

Another  old  English  name  for  the  marigold  was 
ruddes  and  a  prettier  one  was  the  gold-flower,  often 
called  simply  the  gold  or  goold.  Chaucer  talks  of 
"yellow  Goldes."  The  name  was  still  used  in  Eliza- 
beth's day.  "Colin  Clout"  has: 

But  if  I  her  like  ought  on  earth  might  read, 
I  would  her  liken  to  a  crown  of  lilies, 
Upon  a  Virgin  bridels  adorned  head, 
With  roses  dight  and  goolds  and  daffodillies. 

In  Medieval  times  the  monks  gave  to  the  gold- 
flower  the  prefix  Mary,  with  the  legend  that  the 
Virgin  Mary  loved  to  wear  the  flower  in  her  bosom. 
Hence  Shakespeare  calls  it  "Mary-buds."  Of  Shake- 
speare's Marigolds  Parkinson  writes: 


1Q2      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

"They  are  called  Caltha  of  divers  and  taken  to 
be  that  Caltha  whereof  both  Virgil  and  Columella 
have  written.  Others  do  call  them  Calendula  of 
the  Kalends,  that  is  the  first  day  of  the  months, 
wherein  they  are  thought  chiefly  to  flower.  And 
thereupon  the  Italians  call  them  Fiori  di  ogni  mese, 
that  is  the  Flowers  of  Every  Month.  We  call  them 
in  English  generally  Golds,  or  Marigolds. 

"The  herb  and  flowers  are  of  great  use  with  us 
among  other  pot-herbs,  and  the  flowers,  either  green 
or  dyed,  are  often  used  in  possets,  broths  and  drinks ; 
as  a  comforter  of  the  heart  and  spirits ;  and  to  expel 
any  malignant,  or  pestilential  quality,  gathered  near 
thereunto.  The  Syrup  and  Conserve  made  of  the 
fresh  flowers  are  used  for  the  same 'purpose  to  good 
effect." 

Parkinson  divides  marigolds  unto  two  classes: 
single  and  double. 

"The  garden  Marigold,"  he  says,  "hath  round 
green  stalks,  branching  out  from  the  ground  into 
many  parts,  whereon  are  set  long,  flat  green  leaves, 
broader  and  rounder  at  the  point  than  anywhere 
else.  The  flowers  are  sometimes  very  thick  and 
double  (breaking  out  of  a  scaly,  clammy  green 
head),  composed  of  many  rows  of  leaves,  set  so  close 
together,  one  within  another,  that  no  middle  thrum 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS'*  195 

can  be  seen;  and  sometimes  less  double,  having  a 
small  brown  spot  of  a  thrum  in  the  middle;  and 
sometimes  but  of  two  or  three  rows  of  leaves  with 
a  large  brown  thrum  in  the  middle :  every  one  where- 
of is  somewhat  broader  at  the  point  and  nicked  in 
two  or  three  corners,  of  an  excellent  fair,  deep, 
gold-yellow  color  in  some,  and  paler  in  others,  and 
of  a  pretty  strong  and  resinous  sweet  scent. 

"There  is  no  difference  between  this  and  the  single 
Marigold  but  that  the  flowers  are  single,  consisting 
of  one  row  of  leaves  of  the  same  color;  either  paler 
or  deeper  yellow,  standing  about  a  great  brown 
thrum  in  the  middle.  Our  gardens  are  the  chief 
places  for  the  double  flowers  to  grow  in." 

Another  description  is  contained  in  the  famous 
"Gardener's  Labyrinth"  by  Didymus  Mountain 
(Thomas  Hill) : * 

"The  Marigold,  named  of  the  herbarians  Calen- 
dula, is  so  properly  termed  for  that  in  every  Calend 
and  in  each  month  this  reneweth  of  the  own  accord 
and  is  found  to  bear  flowers  as  well  in  Winter  as 
Summer,  for  which  cause  the  Italians  name  the  same 
the  flower  of  every  month.  But  some  term  it  the 
Sun's  Spowse,  or  the  follower  of  the  Sun;  and  is  of 
some  named  the  Husbandman's  Dial,  in  that  the 

"See  p.  68. 


194      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

same  showeth  to  them  both  the  morning  and  eve- 
ning tide.  Others  name  it  the  Sun's  Bride  and 
Sun's  Herb,  in  that  the  flowers  of  the  same  follow 
the  Sun  as  from  the  rising  by  the  South  into  the 
West ;  and  by  a  notable  turning  obeying  to  the  Sun, 
in  such  manner  that  what  part  of  Heaven  he  pos- 
sesseth  they  unto  the  same  turned  behold,  and  that 
in  a  cloudy  and  thick  air  like  directed,  as  if  they 
should  be  revived,  quickened  and  moved  with  the 
spirit  of  him.  Such  is  the  love  of  it  knowen  to  be 
toward  that  royal  Star,  being  in  the  night  time  for 
desire  of  him  as  pensive  and  sad,  they  be  shut  or 
closed  together ;  but  at  the  noontime  of  the  day  fully 
spread  abroad  as  if  they  with  spread  arms  longed, 
or  diligently  attended,  to  embrace  their  Bridegroom. 
This  Marigold  is  a  singular  kind  of  herb,  sown  in 
gardens  as  well  for  the  pot  as  for  the  decking  of 
garlands,  beautifying  of  Nosegays  and  to  be  worn  in 
the  bosom." 

The  Marigold  is  supposed  to  be  the  chrysanthe- 
mum or  gold-flower  of  the  Greeks,  the  Heliotrope- 
solsequium;  and  the  story  goes  that  the  flower  was 
originally  the  nymph  Clytie,  who  gazed  all  day  upon 
the  Sun  with  whom  she  had  fallen  in  love.  At 
length  she  was  turned  into  the  flower.  "All  yellow 
flowers,"  said  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  "and  above  all 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  195 

those  that  the  Greeks  call  Heliotrope  and  we  call 
Sunflower,  not  only  rejoice  at  the  sight  of  the  sun, 
but  follow  with  loving  fidelity  the  attraction  of  its 
rays,  gazing  at  the  Sun  and  turning  towards  it  from 
its  rising  to  its  setting." 

Very  charmingly  does  George  Wither,  a  contem- 
porary of  Shakespeare,  refer  to  this: 

When  with  a  serious  musing  I  behold 

The    grateful    and    obsequious    Marigold, 

How  duly  every  morning  she  displays 

Her  open  breast  when  Phoebus  spreads  his  rays; 

How  she  observes  him  in  his  daily  walk, 

Still  bending  towards  him  her  small  slender  stalk; 

How  when  he  down  declines  she  droops  and  mourns, 

Bedewed,  as  't  were,  with  tears  till  he  returns ; 

And  how  she  veils  her  flowers  when  he  is  gone. 

When  this  I  meditate  methinks  the  flowers 

Have  spirits  far  more  generous  than  ours. 

Margaret  of  Orleans,  grandmother  of  Henri  IV, 
knowing  well  the  legend  of  the  flower,  chose  for  her 
device  a  marigold  with  the  motto,  je  ne  veux  suivre 
que  lui  seul. 

In  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII  the  marigold  was  often 
called  "Souvenir"  and  sentimental  ladies  wore 
wreaths  of  marigolds  mixed  with  the  heartsease.  To 
dream  of  marigolds  denoted  prosperity,  riches,  suc- 
cess, and  a  happy  and  a  wealthy  marriage.  As  the 


196       THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

marigold  was  a  solar  flower,  the  astrologers  placed 
it  under  the  sign  and  care  of  Leo. 

In  a  wholly  Elizabethan  spirit  Keats  sang: 

Open  afresh  your  round  of  starry  folds, 

Ye   ardent  Mangolds ! 
Dry  up  the  moisture  from  your  golden  lids, 

For  great  Apollo  bids 

That  in  these  days  your  praises  should  be  sung 
On  many  harps,  which  he  has  lately  strung; 
And  when  again  your  dewyness  he  kisses 
Tell  him  I  have  you  in  my  world  of  blisses! 
So  happly  when  I  rove  in  some  far  vale 
His  mighty  voice  may  come  upon  the  gale. 

The  Shakespearian  marigold  must  not  be  con- 
fused with  the  French  marigold  (Flos  Africanus), 
called  also  Indian  gilliflower,  flower  of  Africa,  and 
flower  of  Tunis.  A  long  chapter  on  this  marigold 
appears  in  Parkinson's  book.  This  is  the  tightly 
rolled  up  little  flower  of  irregular  ragged  petals, 
but  of  a  rich,  deep  golden  hue. 

Parkinson  also  speaks  of  the  great  Peruvian  sun- 
flower, which  he  admires  greatly  and  describes  with 
enthusiasm.  We  know  it  well  as  our  common  sun- 
flower with  its  dark  center  and  yellow  rays — a 
magnificent  specimen  of  the  floral  world,  worthy  of 
the  adoration  of  the  Incas  and  of  more  than  we 
usually  accord  to  it. 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  197 

LARKSPUR  (Delphinium).  "Lark's-heels  trim," 
one  of  the  flowers  in  the  introductory  song  of 
"The  Two  Noble  Kinsmen,"  is  the  Delphinium, 
also  called  larkspur,  lark's-claw,  lark's-toes,  and 
knight' s-spur.  The  generic  name  is  derived  from 
the  Greek  delphinium,  because  the  buds  were 
thought  to  resemble  the  form  of  a  dolphin. 

As  with  many  other  plants,  there  were  two  kinds, 
the  "wild"  and  the  "tame";  and  it  was  the  wild 
kind  that  was  "nourished  up  in  gardens,"  according 
to  Parkinson,  who  describes  the  plant  as  having 
"small,  long,  green  leaves,  finely  cut,  almost  like 
fennel  and  the  branches  ending  in  a  long  spike  of 
hollow  flowers  with  a  long  spur  behind  them.  They 
are  of  several  colors :  bluish  purple,  or  white,  or  ash 
color,  or  red,  paler  or  deeper,  and  parti-colored  of 
two  colors  in  a  flower. 

"They  are  called  diversely  by  divers  writers  as 
Cons  olid  a  regulis,  Calearis  flos,  Flos  regius,  Bucci- 
num  Romanorum,  and  Cuminum  silvestre  alterum 
Dioscoridis;  but  the  most  usual  name  with  us  is 
Delphinium.  But  whether  it  be  the  true  Delphinium 
of  Dioscorides,  or  the  Poet's  Hyacinth,  or  the  Flower 
of  Ajax,  another  place  is  fitter  to  discuss  than  this. 
We  call  them  in  English  Larks-heels,  Larkspurs, 
Larkstoes,  or  claws,  and  Monks-hoods.  There  is  no 


198      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

use  of  any  of  these  in  Physicke  in  these  days  that  I 
know,  but  are  wholly  spent  for  their  flowers  sake." 

A  modem  botanist  remarks : 

"The  gardener's  ideal  has  been  the  full-flowered 
spike  with  a  goodly  range  of  colors  on  the  chord  of 
blue.  We  think  of  larkspur  as  blue.  Some  of  these 
blues  are  pale  as  the  sky,  some  pure  cobalt,  others 
indigo  and  still  others  are  a  strange  broken  blue, 
gorgeous  and  intense,  yet  impure,  glittering  on  the 
surface  as  if  it  were  strewn  with  broken  glass,  and 
sometimes  darkened  into  red.  The  center  of  a  lark- 
spur is  often  grotesque;  the  hairy  petals  suggest  a 
bee  at  the  heart  of  a  flower,  and  the  flower  itself 
looks  like  a  little  creature  poised  for  flight.  In 
structure  the  garden  race  has  changed  very  little 
from  the  primitive  type,  though  that  type  has  wan- 
dered far  from  the  simplicity  of  the  buttercup,  which 
names  the  Ranunculaca.  Whatever  path  of  evolu- 
tion the  larkspur  has  trod,  it  is  very  clear  that  the 
goal  at  which  it  has  arrived  is  cross-fertilization  by 
means  of  the  bee.  At  some  time  along  the  path  the 
calix  took  on  the  duties  of  the  corolla,  became  highly 
colored,  developed  a  spur,  while  at  the  same  time 
the  corolla  lessened  both  in  size  and  in  importance. 
The  stamens  mature  before  the  pistil  and  are  so 
placed  that  the  bee  cannot  get  at  the  honey  without 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS'7  199 

covering  its  head  with  pollen  which  it  then  bears  to 
another  flower." 

The  name  of  Monk's-hood  is  also  given  to  the 
Blue  Helmet-flower,  or  aconite.1 

Yellow  Lark's-heels  is  a  name  our  Elizabethan 
forefathers  gave  to  the  Nasturtium  Indicum,  a  plant 
found  in  the  West  Indies  and  taken  by  the  early 
Spanish  explorers  to  Spain,  whence  it  traveled  to 
all  parts  of  Europe. 

"It  is  now  very  familiar  in  most  gardens  of  any 
curiosity,"  says  Parkinson.  "The  likeness  of  this 
flower,  having  spurs,  or  heels,  is  of  so  great  beauty 
and  sweetness  withall  that  my  Garden  of  Delight 
cannot  be  unfurnished  of  it.  The  flowers  are  of  an 
excellent  gold  yellow  color  and  grow  all  along  the 
stalks.  In  the  middle  of  each  of  the  three  lower 
leaves  there  is  a  little  long  spot,  or  streak,  of  an 
excellent  crimson  color,  with  a  long  heel,  or  spur, 
behind,  hanging  down.  The  whole  flower  hath  a 
fine  small  scent,  very  pleasing,  which,  being  placed 
in  the  middle  of  some  Carnations,  or  Gilloflowers 
(for  they  are  in  flower  at  the  same  time),  make  a 
delicious  Tussiemussie,  as  they  call  it,  or  Nosegay, 
both  for  sight  and  scent.  Monardus  and  others  call 
it  Flos  sanguineus  of  the  red  spots  in  the  flower,  as 

'See  p.  248. 


200      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

also  Nastnerzo  de  las  Indias,  which  is  Nasturtium 
Indicum;  and  we  thereafter  in  English,  Indian 
Cresses.  Yet  it  may  be  called  from  the  form  of  the 
flowers  Yellow  Lark's  heels." 

This  flower  is  phosphorescent  and  is  said  to  emit 
sparks,  which  are  visible  in  the  dark. 

VII 

Pansies  for  Thoughts  and  Poppies  for  "Dreams 

PANSY  (Viola  tricolor).  "Pansies— that's  for 
thoughts,"  exclaims  Ophdia,  as  she  holds  out 
the  flower  that  the  French  call  pensee  (thought). 
And  it  is  the  pansy  that  is  "the  little  western  flower" 
upon  which  "the  bolt  of  Cupid  fell"  and  made 
"purple  with  love's  wound"  and  which  "maidens 
call  Love  in  Idleness," — the  flower  that  Oberon 
thus  described  to  Puck  when  he  sent  him  to  gather  it. 
The  juice  of  it  squeezed  by  Oberon  upon  Titanid s 
eyelids  and  by  Puck  upon  the  Athenian  youths  and 
maidens,  who  were  also  sleeping  in  the  enchanted 
wood  on  that  midsummer  night,  occasioned  so  many 
fantastic  happenings. 

The  pansy  in  those  days  was  the  small  Johnny- 
Jump-Up,  a  variety  of  the  violet,  according  to  the 
old  writers,  "a  little  violet  of  three  colors,  blue, 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  201 

white  and  yellow."  Milton  noted  that  it  was 
"freaked  with  jet."  Michael  Drayton  showed  its 
close  relationship  to  the  violet  in  the  lines: 

The  pansy  and  the  violet  here 

As    seeming    to    descend 
Both  from  one  root  and  very  fair 

For  sweetness  yet  contend. 

Gerard  wrote  in  1587: 

"The  stalks  are  weak  and  tender,  whereupon 
grow  flowers  in  form  and  figure  like  the  Violet  and 
for  the  most  part  of  the  same  bigness,  of  three  sundry 
colors,  whereof  it  took  the  surname  Tricolor,  that 
is  to  say  purple,  yellow  and  white,  or  blue;  by  rea- 
son of  the  beauty  and  bravery  of  which  colors  they 
are  very  pleasing  to  the  eye,  for  smell  they  have  lit- 
tle, or  none  at  all." 

The  pansy  was  beloved  of  Elizabethans :  the  great 
number  of  popular  names  it  had  proves  this.  In 
addition  to  Pansy  and  Johnny-Jump-Up,  it  was 
called  Herb  Trinity,  because  of  the  three  distinct 
petals,  which  made  it  a  flower  of  peculiar  religious 
significance.  Another  name  was  Three-Faces- 
under-a-Hood  because  it  had  such  a  coquettish  air. 
Another  name  was  Fancy  Flamey,  because  its  ame- 
thystine colors  are  like  those  seen  in  the  flames  of 
burning  wood;  and  because  lovers  gave  it  to  one 


202      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

another  it  had  the  pet  names  of  Meet-me-at-the- 
Garden-Gate,  Kiss-me-at-the-Garden-Gate,  Kiss- 
me-quick,  Kiss-me,  Call-me-to-you,  Cuddle-me-to 
you,  Kiss-me-ere-I-rise,  Pink-of-my-John,  Cupid' s- 
flower,  Love-in-idleness,  and  Heartsease. 

There  were  no  "wine  dark  pansies"  in  Shake- 
speare's time  to  charm  the  lover  of  flowers  and  none 
of  the  splendid  deep  purple  velvets  and  mauves  and 
pale  amethysts  and  burnt  orange  and  lemon  and 
claret  and  sherry  and  canary  hues  that  delight  us 
to-day,  and  which  are,  to  use  the  quaint  old  expres- 
sion, "nourished  up  in  our  gardens."  The  modern 
beauties  began  to  be  developed  about  1875,  chiefly 
by  the  French  specialists,  and,  as  a  modern  writer 
remarks : 

"Such  sizes,  such  combinations,  such  weirdness 
of  expression  in  quaint  faces  painted  upon  the  petals 
were  never  known  before.  The  colors  now  run  a 
marvellous  range;  pure- white,  pure  yellow,  deepen- 
ing to  orange,  and  darkening  to  brown,  as  well  as  a 
bewildering  variety  of  blues  and  purples  and  violets. 
The  lowest  note  is  a  rich  and  velvety  shade  that  we 
speak  of  as  black ;  but  there  is  no  black  in  flowers. 

"The  pansy  is  the  flower  for  all.  It  is  cheap;  it  is 
hardy;  it  is  beautiful;  and  its  beauty  is  of  an  un- 
usual and  personal  kind.  The  bright,  cheerful,  wist- 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  203 

ful  or  roguish  faces  look  tip  to  you  with  so  much 
apparent  intelligence  that  it  is  hard  to  believe  it  is 
all  a  pathetic  fallacy  and  there  is  nothing  there." 

Whether  the  modern  pansies  should  be  included 
in  a  Shakespeare  garden  is  a  question  for  each  owner 
of  a  garden  to  decide ;  but  there  should  certainly  be 
a  goodly  number  of  the  little  "Johnny-Jump-Ups." 

POPPY  (Papaver  somniferum).  Shakespeare 
introduces  the  poppy  only  indirectly  when  he 
speaks  of  the  "drowsy  syrup"  in  "Othello."  The 
white  poppy  is  the  flower  from  which  the  sleeping 
potion  was  made.  "Of  Poppies,"  says  Parkinson, 
"there  are  a  great  many  sorts,  both  wild  and  tame ; 
but  our  garden  doth  entertain  none  but  those  of 
beauty  and  respect.  The  general  known  name  to  all 
is  Papaver,  Poppie.  Yet  our  English  gentlewomen 
in  sortie  places  call  it  by  name  Joan's  Silver  Pin. 
It  is  not  unknown,  I  suppose,  to  any  that  Poppies 
procureth  sleep."  Other  old  names  for  the  poppy 
were  Corn  Rose  and  Cheese  Bowl. 

Scarlet  poppies  in  the  wreath  of  Ceres  among  the 
wheat-ears,  scarlet  poppies  .mingled  with  large 
white-petaled  daisies,  and  Ragged  Robins  belong  to 
everybody's  mental  picture  of  midsummer  days. 

"We  usually  think  of  the  Poppy  as  a  coarse 
flower,"  says  Ruskin,  "but  it  is  the  most  transparent 


204      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

and  delicate  of  all  the  blossoms  of  the  field.  The 
rest,  nearly  all  of  them,  depend  on  the  texture  of 
their  surface  for  color.  But  the  Poppy  is  painted 
glass;  it  never  glows  so  brightly  as  when  the  sun 
shines  through  it.  Whenever  it  is  seen  against  the 
light,  or  with  the  light,  always  it  is  a  flame  and 
warms  in  the  wind  like  a  blown  ruby." 

"Gather  a  green  Poppy  bud,  just  when  it  shows 
the  scarlet  line  at  its  side,  break  it  open  and  unpack 
the  Poppy.  The  whole  flower  is  there  compact  in 
size  and  color,  its  stamens  full  grown,  but  all  packed 
so  closely  that  the  fine  silk  of  the  petals  is  crushed 
into  a  million  of  wrinkles.  When  the  flower  opens, 
it  seems  a  relief  from  torture;  the  two  imprisoning 
green  leaves  are  shaken  to  the  ground,  the  aggrieved 
corolla  smooths  itself  in  the  sun  and  comforts  itself 
as  best  it  can,  but  remains  crushed  and  hurt  to  the 
end  of  its  days." 

Delicate  and  fine  as  is  the  above  description,  the 
sympathetic  tribute  to  the  poppy  by  Celia  Thaxter 
does  not  suffer  in  proximity.  She  says : 

"I  know  of  no  flower  that  has  so  many  charming 
tricks  and  manners,  none  with  a  method  of  growth 
more  picturesque  and  fascinating.  The  stalks  often 
take  a  curve,  a  twist  from  some  current  of  air,  or 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  205 

some  impediment,  and  the  fine  stems  will  turn  and 
bend  in  all  sorts  of  graceful  ways,  but  the  bud  is 
always  held  erect  when  the  time  comes  for  it  to 
blossom.  Ruskin  quotes  Lindley's  definition  of  what 
constitutes  a  poppy,  which  he  thinks  'might  stand/ 
This  is  it :  'A  Poppy  is  a  flower  which  has  either  four 
or  six  petals  and  two  or  more  treasuries  united  in 
one,  containing  a  milky  stupefying  fluid  in  its  stalks 
and  leaves  and  always  throwing  away  its  calix  when 
it  blossoms/ 

"I  muse  over  their  seed-pods,  those  supremely 
graceful  urns  that  are  wrought  with  such  matchless 
elegance  of  shape  and  think  what  strange  power  they 
hold  within.  Sleep  is  there  and  Death,  his  brother, 
imprisoned  in  those  mystic  sealed  cups.  There  is  a 
hint  of  their  mystery  in  their  shape  of  somber 
beauty,  but  never  a  suggestion  in  the  fluttering  blos- 
som :  it  is  the  gayest  flower  that  blows.  In  the  more 
delicate  varieties  the  stalks  are  so  slender,  yet  so 
strong,  like  fine  grass  stems.  When  you  examine 
them,  you  wonder  how  they  hold  even  the  light 
weight  of  the  flower  so  firmly  and  proudly  erect;  and 
they  are  clothed  with  the  finest  of  fine  hairs  up  and 
down  the  stalks  and  over  the  green  calix. 

"It  is  plain  to  see,  as  one  gazes  over  the  poppy- 


206      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

beds  on  some  sweet  evening  at  sunset,  what  buds  will 
bloom  in  the  joy  of  next  morning's  first  sunbeams, 
for  these  will  be  lifting  themselves  heavenward, 
slowly  and  silently,  but  surely.  To  stand  by  the 
beds  at  sunrise  and  see  the  flowers  awake  is  a 
heavenly  delight.  As  the  first  long,  low  rays  of  the 
sun  strike  the  buds,  you  know  they  feel  the  signal ! 
A  light  air  stirs  among  them;  you  lift  your  eyes, 
perhaps  to  look  at  a  rosy  cloud,  or  follow  the  flight 
of  a  carolling  bird,  and  when  you  look  back  again, 
lo!  the  calix  has  fallen  from  the  largest  bud  and 
lies  on  the  ground,  two  half-transparent  light  green 
shells,  leaving  the  flower-petal  wrinked  in  a  thou- 
sand folds,  just  released  from  their  close  pressure. 
A  moment  more  and  they  are  unclosing  before  you 
eyes.  They  flutter  out  on  the  gentle  breeze  like 
silken  banners  to  the  sun." 

It  would  be  tempting  in  a  Shakespeare  garden  to 
include  many  kinds  of  this  joyous,  yet  solemn, 
flower ;  and  certainly  as  many  were  common  in  Eliza- 
bethan gardens  it  would  not  be  an  anachronism  to 
have  them.  However,  if  the  space  be  restricted  and 
the  garden  lover  a  purist  then  the  white  poppy  only 
should  be  planted. 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"          207 

VIII 

Crow-flowers  and  Long  Purples 

CROW-FLOWERS  (Scilla  nutans).  These  are 
among  the  flowers  Ophelia  wove  into  a  wreath.  The 
queen  tells  the  court: 

There  is  a  willow  grove  ascaunt  the  brook, 
That  shows  his  hoar  leaves  in  the  glassy  stream. 
There,  with  fantastic  garlands  did  she  come 
Of  crow  flowers,  nettles,  daisies  and  long  purples 
That  liberal  shepherds  give  a  grosser  name 
But  our  cold  maids  do  dead  men's  fingers  call  them.1 

Shakespeare  did  not  select  Ophelia's  flowers  at 
random.  They  typified  the  sorrows  of  the  gentle 
victim  of  disappointed  love  whose  end  was  first  mad- 
ness, then  suicide.  The  crow-flowers  signified  "fair 
maiden";  the  nettles,  "stung  to  the  quick";  the 
daisies,  "her  virgin  bloom";  and  the  long  purples, 
"under  the  cold  hand  of  Death."  Thus  what  Shake- 
speare intended  to  convey  by  this  code  of  flowers 
was,  "A  fair  maiden,  stung  to  the  quick,  her  virgin 
bloom  in  the  cold  hand  of  Death." 

It  is  generally  supposed  that  the  wild  blue 
hyacinth,  or  harebell  (Scilla  nutans),  a  flower  asso- 

1  "Hamlet";  Act  IV,  Scene  VII. 


208      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

elated  with  pure  and  faithful  love,  is  the  crow- 
flower;  and  authority  is  given  to  this  theory  in  the 
old  ballad,  which,  of  course,  Shakespeare  knew, 
called  "The  Deceased  Maiden  Lover": 

Then  round  the  meddowes  did  she  walk 
Catching   each   flower   by   the    stalk, 
Such  as  within  the  meddowes  grew, 
As  dead  man's  thumb  and  harebell  blue, 
And  as  she  pluckt  them  still  cried  she, 
"Alas !  there  's  none  ere  loved  like  me." 

Some  critics  have  objected  to  the  blue  harebell 
because  it  is  a  spring  flower,  and  it  is  midsummer 
when  Ophelia  drowns  herself.  These  authorities 
suggest  the  Ragged  Robin  for  Ophelia's  crow-flower, 
and  others  again  the  buttercup,  also  called  creeping 
crowfoot  {Ranunculus  repens).  Bloom  writes: 

"It  is  generally  assumed  that  the  flowers  are  those 
of  the  meadow  and  that  a  moist  one.  Why^  It  is 
equally  probable  they  are  those  of  the  shady  hedge 
bank  and  that  the  crow-flowers  are  the  poisonous 
rank  Ranunculus  reptans  and  its  allies;  that  the 
nettles  are  the  ordinary  Urtica  dioica  not  necessarily 
in  flower,  or  if  this  be  objected  to  on  account  of  the 
stinging  qualities  which  the  distraught  Ophelia 
might  not  be  insensible  to,  its  place  could  be  taken 
by  the  white  dead  nettle  Lamium  album  L.  The 
daisies  may  be  moon-daisies  and  the  long  purples 


PLEACHING  AND  PLASHING,   FROM   "THE  GARDENER'S   LABYRINTH5 


SMALL  ENCLOSED  GARDEN,   FROM   "THE   GARDENER'S  LABYRINTH" 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  209 

Arum  masculatum,  another  plant  of  baleful  influ- 
ence, with  its  mysterious  dead  white  spadix  bearing 
no  very  far  fetched  resemblance  to  a  dead  man's 
finger  wrapped  in  its  green  winding-sheet  and  whose 
grosser  name,  cuckoo-pint,  is  ready  at  hand.  With 
this  selection  we  have  plants  of  the  same  situation 
flowering  at  the  same  time  and  all  more  or  less  bane- 
ful in  their  influence." 

The  crow  has  given  its  name  to  many  flowers. 
There  are,  indeed,  more  plants  named  for  the  crow 
than  for  any  other  bird:  crowfoot,  crow-toes,  crow- 
bells  (for  daffodil  and  bluebells)  crow-berry,  crow- 
garlick,  crow-leeks,  crow-needles,  and  many  others. 

LONG  PURPLE  (Arum  masculatam  or  Orchis 
mascula)  is  very  closely  related  to  our  woodland 
Jack-in-the-Pulpit.  It  has  many  names:  Arum; 
Cookoo-pint,  Cookoo-pintle,  Wake-Robin,  Friar' s- 
cowl,  Lords-and-Ladies,  Cow-and-Calves,  Ramp, 
Starchwort,  Bloody-men' s-finger,  and  Gethsemane, 
as  the  plant  is  said  to  have  been  growing  at  the  Cross 
and  to  have  received  some  drops  of  the  Savior's 
blood.  This  flower  is  mentioned  in  Tennyson's  "A 
Dirge" : 

Round  thee  blow,  self-pleached  deep, 
Bramble  roses,  faint  and  pale, 
And  long  purples  of  the  dale. 


210      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

Dr.  Forbes  Watson  writes : 

"I  use  the  old  name  Wake  Robin  because  it  is  so 
full  of  poetry — to  think  of  the  bird  aroused  from 
sleep  by  the  soundless  ringing  of  the  bell.  Arum,  or 
Lords  and  Ladies,  is  the  more  usual  name." 

The  plant  is  under  the  dominion  of  Mars,  so  the 
astrologers  said. 

IX 

Saffron  Crocus  and  Cuckoo-flowers 

SAFFRON  CROCUS  (Crocus  verus  sativus 
Autumnalis).  Shakespeare  speaks  of  saffron  as  a 
color — "the  saffron  wings  of  Iris"  and  "saffron  to 
color  the  Warden  [pear]  pies."  He  never  mentions 
the  crocus  from  which  the  saffron  was  obtained,  yet 
a  Shakespeare  garden  should  have  this  plant  repre- 
sented. Saffron  had  long  been  known  in  England; 
for  in  the  time  of  Edward  III  a  pilgrim  from  the 
East  had  brought,  concealed  in  his  staff,  a  root  of  the 
precious  Arabic  al  zahafaran.  In  Shakespeare's 
time  saffron  was  used  for  soups  and  sauces  and  to 
color  and  flavor  pies,  cakes,  and  pastry-confection. 
Saffron  was  also  important  medicinally,  and  for 
dyeing  silks  and  other  materials.  The  beautiful 
orange-red  stigmas,  the  crocei  odores  of  Virgil,  were 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  211 

dried  and  the  powder  pressed  into  cakes  and  sold  in 
the  shops. 

"The  true  saffron,"  writes  Parkinson,  "that  is 
used  in  meats  and  medicines,  shooteth  out  his  nar- 
row long  green  leaves  first,  and,  after  a  while,  the 
flowers,  in  the  middle  of  them,  appear  about  the 
end  of  August,  in  September  and  October,  according 
to  the  soil  and  climate  where  they  grow.  These 
flowers  are  composed  of  six  leaves  apiece,  of  a  mur- 
rey, or  reddish  purple  color,  having  a  show  of  blue 
in  them.  In  the  middle  of  these  flowers  there  are 
some  small  yellow  chives  standing  upright,  which 
are  unprofitable ;  but,  besides  these,  each  flower  hath 
two,  three,  or  four  greater  and  longer  chives  hanging 
down,  upon,  or  between,  the  leaves,  which  are  of  a 
fiery  red  color  and  are  the  true  blades  of  saffron 
which  are  used  physically,  or  otherwise,  and  no 
other." 

The  raising  of  saffron  was  a  great  industry.  Old 
Tusser  gave  the  good  advice  to 

Pare   saffron  plot, 

Forget  it  not. 
His  dwelling  made  trim, 

Look  shortly  for  him! 
When  harvest  is  gone, 

Then  Saffron  comes  on; 


212      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

A   little   of   ground 

Brings  Saffron  a  pound. 

Saffron  Walden  in  Essex  and  Saffron  Hill  in 
London  received  their  names  because  of  the  quantity 
of  saffron  crocus  grown  in  those  places. 

The  saffron  crocus  is  a  handsome  flower,  but  some- 
what capricious.  Dr.  Forbes  Watson  writes: 

"We  look  at  the  few  well  selected  flowers  in  our 
hand  and  let  our  mind  wander  in  the  depths  of  those 
fair-striped  cups,  their  color  so  fresh,  so  cool,  so 
delicate,  and  yet  not  too  cool,  with  that  central  yel- 
low stamen-column  and  the  stigma  emerging  from  it 
like  a  fiery  orange  lump.  The  Purple  Crocus,  partly 
from  the  full  materials  for  color-contrast  afforded 
by  its  interior,  partly  from  the  exceeding  delicacy 
of  tint,  the  lilac  stripes  and  markings,  the  trans- 
parent veins  and  the  pale  watery  lake  which  lies  at 
the  bottom  of  the  cup,  seem  to  bear  us  away  to  some 
enchanted  spot,  a  fairy-land  of  color  where  no 
shadow  ever  falls — a  land  of  dim  eternal  twilight 
and  never  fading  flowers.  Note,  too,  the  differences 
between  the  Crocuses  with  regard  to  the  stigma.  In 
the  Purple  Crocus,  where  it  is  needed  to  complete 
the  harmony  of  the  flower,  it  rises  long  and  flame- 
tipped  out  of  the  tall  bundle  of  yellow  stamens. 
Notice  also  the  curve  of  the  outside  of  the  Purple 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  213 

Crocus  cup  in  a  well-selected  flower,  and  observe 
how  quiet  and  solemnly  beautiful  it  is  in  perfect 
harmony  with  the  general  expression." 

According  to  legend,  the  flower  derived  its  name 
from  a  beautiful  youth,  Crocus,  who  was  trans- 
formed into  the  flower.  His  love,  Smilax,  was 
changed  at  the  same  time  into  the  delicate  vine  of 
that  name.  Another  legend  says  that  the  flower 
sprang  from  the  blood  of  the  infant  Crocus,  who 
was  accidentally  killed  by  a  disk  thrown  by  the  god 
Mercury.  The  Egyptians  encircled  their  wine-cups 
with  the  saffron  crocus;  the  Greeks  and  Romans 
adorned  the  nuptial  couch  with  the  saffron  crocus; 
the  robes  of  Hymen,  god  of  marriage,  were  saffron- 
hued;  and  poets  called  the  dawn  saffron,  or  crocus- 
colored.  Shakespeare,  therefore,  had  authority  for 
"the  saffron  wings  of  Iris." 

Saffron  is  an  herb  of  the  sun  and  is  under  the  rule 
of  Leo. 

CUCKOO-FLOWER  (Lychnis  Flos  cuculi): 
Shakespeare  mentions  "cuckoo-flowers"  in  "King 
Lear,"1  in  company  with  troublesome  weeds.  Cor- 
delia remarks: 

Crown'd  with  rank  fumiter  and  furrow-weeds, 
With  burdocks,  hemlocks,  nettles,  cuckoo-flowers, 

*Act  IV,  Scene  IV. 


214      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

Darnel,  and  all  the  idle  weeds  that  grow 
On  our  sustaining  corn. 

Shakespeare's  cuckoo-flower  is  identified  as  the 
Ragged  Robin,  so  called  from  its  finely  cut  blue 
petals  which  have  a  ragged  appearance.  It  is  also 
known  as  the  meadow  campion,  or  Meadow  Pink. 
Parkinson  says:  "Feathered  Campions  are  called 
Arm  or  aria  pratensis  and  Flos  cuculi.  Some  call 
them  in  English  Crow-flowers  and  Cuckowe  Flowers, 
and  some  call  the  double  hereof  The  Fair  Maid  of 
France." 

From  the  above  we  see  why  it  is  that  the  Ragged 
Robin  has  been  identified  by  some  authorities  as 
Ophelia's  crow-flower;  for  even  Parkinson  seems  to 
consider  the  crow-flower  and  cuckoo-flower  as  iden- 
tical. Some  of  the  old  herbalists  give  the  name 
cuckoo-flower  to  the  lady-smock,  which  is  called 
cuckoo-buds.  The  cuckoo's  name  is  given  to  many 
flowers:  we  have  the  cuckoo-flower,  cuckoo- 
buds,  cuckoo' s-b read  (wood-sorrel),  cuckoo' s-meat, 
cuckoo-pint  (Arum  maculaturn),  cuckoo-grass; 
cuckoo-hood  (blue  corn-flower),  etc.  The  cuckoo- 
flower (Ragged  Robin)  is  dedicated  to  St.  Barnabas. 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  215 


Pomegranate  and  Myrtle 

THE  POMEGRANATE  (Punic a)  is  a  regal 
flower.  Its  burning  beauty  appeals  to  every  one  who 
loves  color,  for  the  scarlet  of  the  pomegranate  has  a 
depth  and  a  quality  that  is  all  its  own.  The  crinkled 
silken  petals,  rising  from  a  thick,  red  calix  and  set  off 
by  bright  green  leaves  of  wondrous  glossy  luster  and 
prickly  thorns,  delight  those  who  love  beauty. 
Moreover,  there  is  something  luscious  and  strange 
about  the  pomegranate  that  makes  us  think  of  Orien- 
tal queens  and  the  splendors  of  Babylon  and  Persia, 
ancient  Egypt  and  Carthage.  It  is  a  flower  that 
Dido  might  have  worn  in  her  hair,  or  Semiramis  in 
garlands  around  her  neck ! 

Shakespeare  knew  perfectly  well  what  he  was 
doing  when  he  placed  a  pomegranate  beneath 
Julie f 's  window,  amid  whose  leaves  and  flowers  the 
nightingale  sang  so  beautifully.  The  pomegranate 
was  exactly  the  flower  to  typify  the  glowing  passion 
of  the  youthful  lovers. 

"There  are  two  kinds  of  pomegranate  trees," 
writes  Parkinson,  "the  one  tame  or  manured,  bearing 
fruit;  the  other  wild,  which  beareth  no  fruit,  be- 


216      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

cause  it  beareth  double  flowers,  like  as  the  Cherry, 
Apple  and  Peach-tree  with  double  blossoms. 

"The  wild  Pomegranate  (Balustium  mains  sive 
Malus  Punic  a)  is  like  unto  the  tame  in  the  number 
of  purplish  branches,  having  thorns  and  shining  fair 
green  leaves,  somewhat  larger  than  the  former. 
From  the  branches  likewise  shoot  forth  flowers  far 
more  beautiful  than  those  of  the  tame,  or  manured, 
sort,  because  they  are  double,  and  as  large  as  a 
double  Province  Rose,  or  rather  more  double,  of  an 
excellent  bright  crimson  color,  tending  to  a  silken 
carnation,  standing  in  brownish  cups  or  husks,  di- 
vided at  the  brims  usually  into  four,  or  five,  several 
points  like  unto  the  former,  but  that  in  this  kind 
there  never  followeth  any  fruit,  no  not  in  the  coun- 
try where  it  is  naturally  wild.  The  wild,  I  think, 
was  never  seen  in  England  before  John  Tradescant, 
my  very  loving  good  friend,  brought  it  from  the 
parts  beyond  the  seas  and  planted  it  in  his  Lord's 
Garden  at  Canterbury.  The  rind  of  the  Pome- 
granate is  used  to  make  the  best  sort  of  writing  Ink, 
which  is  durable  to  the  world's  end." 

The  pomegranate  was  from  the  dawn  of  history 
a  favorite  with  Eastern  peoples.  It  is  represented 
in  ancient  Assyrian  and  Egyptian  sculpture  and  had 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS' '  217 

a  religious  significance  in  connection  with  several 
Oriental  cults. 

The  tree  was  abundant  in  ancient  Egypt  and  the 
fruit  was  such  a  favorite  of  the  Israelites  that  one 
complaint  against  the  desert  into  which  Moses  led 
them  was  the  charge  that  it  was  "no  place  of  pome- 
granates," and  Moses  had  to  soothe  the  malcontents 
by  promising  that  the  pomegranate  would  be  among 
the  delights  of  Canaan,  "a  land  of  wheat  and  bar- 
ley, vines  and  fig-trees  and  pomegranates,  a  land  of 
olive  oil  and  honey."  The  pomegranate  was  one 
of  the  commonest  fruits  of  Canaan,  and  several 
places  were  named  after  it — Rimmon.  The  Jews 
employed  the  pomegranate  in  their  religious  cere- 
monies. On  the  hem  of  Aaron's  sacred  robe  pome- 
granates were  embroidered  in  blue  and  purple  and 
scarlet  alternating  with  golden  bells, — an  adorn- 
ment that  was  copied  from  the  ancient  kings  of 
Persia.  The  pomegranate  was  also  carved  on  the 
capitals  of  the  pillars  of  the  Temple  of  Jerusalem. 
Solomon  said  to  his  bride,  "I  will  cause  thee  to  drink 
of  spiced  wine  of  the  juice  of  my  pomegranates." 
There  is  a  tradition  that  the  pomegranate  was  the 
fruit  of  the  Tree  of  Life  and  that  it  was  the  pome- 
granate that  Eve  gave  to  Adam. 


218      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

The  Romans  called  it  the  Carthaginian  apple. 
The  pomegranate  abounded  in  Carthage  and  derives 
its  botanical  name,  Punica,  from  this  place.  Pliny 
says  that  the  pomegranate  came  to  Rome  from  Car- 
thage; but  its  original  home  was  probably  Persia  or 
Babylon.  It  was  early  introduced  into  Southern 
Europe  and  was  taken  to  Spain  from  Africa. 
Granada  took  its  name  from  the  fruits  and  the  Arms 
of  the  province  display  a  split  pomegranate.  Around 
Genoa  and  Nice  there  are  whole  hedges  of  it — 
rising  to  the  height  sometimes  of  twenty  feet.  It 
was  introduced  into  England  in  Henry  VIIFs  time, 
carried  there  among  others  by  Katharine  of  Aragon, 
who  used  it  for  her  device.  Gerard  grew  pome- 
granates in  his  garden.  Many  legends  are  con- 
nected with  the  pomegranate,  not  the  least  being 
that  of  Proserpine.  When  the  distracted  Ceres 
found  her  daughter  had  been  carried  off  by  Pluto, 
she  begged  Jupiter  to  restore  her.  Jupiter  replied 
that  he  would  do  so  if  she  had  eaten  nothing  in  the 
realms  of  the  Underworld.  Unfortunately,  Pluto 
had  given  her  a  pomegranate  and  Proserpine  had 
eaten  some  of  the  seeds.  She  could  not  return.  The 
sorrow  of  Ceres  was  so  great  that  a  compromise  was 
made  and  the  beautiful  maiden  thereafter  spent  six 
months  in  the  Underworld  with  her  husband  and  six 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  219 

months  with  her  mother  above  ground — a  beautiful 
story  of  the  life  of  the  seed ! 

In  nearly  all  the  legends  of  the  East  in  which 
the  word  "apple"  is  mentioned  it  is  the  pomegranate 
that  is  intended.  It  is  said  to  have  been  the  fruit 
presented  by  Paris  to  Venus,  and  it  is  always  asso- 
ciated with  love  and  marriage. 

In  Christian  art  the  pomegranate  is  depicted  as 
bursting  open  and  showing  the  seeds.  This  is  inter- 
preted as  both  a  promise  and  an  emblem  of  hope  in 
immortality.  St.  Catharine,  the  mystical  bride  of 
Christ,  is  sometimes  represented  with  a  pomegranate 
in  her  hand.  The  infant  Savior  is  also  often  repre- 
sented as  holding  the  fruit  and  offering  it  to  the 
Virgin:  Botticelli's  "Madonna  of  the  Melagrana" 
is  a  famous  example. 

There  is  also  a  legend  that  because  the  pome- 
granate was  planted  on  the  grave  of  King  Eteocles, 
the  fruit  has  exuded  blood  ever  since.  The  number 
of  seeds  has  caused  it  to  become  the  symbol  of 
fecundity,  generation,  and  wealth. 

MYRTLE  (Myrtus  lati folia)  was  looked  upon 
in  Shakespeare's  time  as  a  delicate  and  refined  rarity, 
emblem  of  charming  beauty  and  denoting  peaceful- 
ness,  plenty,  repose,  and  love.  Shakespeare  makes 
Venus  and  Adonis  meet  under  a  myrtle  shade;  he 


220      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

speaks  of  "the  soft  myrtle"  in  "Measure  for 
Measure" ;  and  he  alludes  "to  the  moon-dew  on  the 
myrtle  leaf,"  which  is  as  delicate  a  suggestion  of 
the  evening  perfume  as  the  "morning  roses  newly 
washed  with  dew"  is  of  the  scents  at  dawn. 

"We  nourish  Myrtles  with  great  care,"  says  Par- 
kinson, "for  the  beautiful  aspect,  sweet  scent  and 
rarity,  as  delights  and  ornaments  for  a  garden  of 
pleasure,  wherein  nothing  should  be  wanting  that 
art,  care  and  cost  might  produce  and  preserve. 

"The  broad-leafed  Myrtle  riseth  up  to  the  height 
of  four  or  five  foot  at  the  most  with  us,  full  of 
branches  and  leaves,  growing  like  a  small  bush,  the 
stem  and  elder  branches  whereof  are  covered  with 
a  dark  colored  bark,  but  the  young  with  a  green  and 
some  with  a  red,  especially  upon  the  first  shooting 
forth,  whereon  are  set  many  fresh  green  leaves  very 
sweet  in  smell  and  very  pleasant  to  behold,  so  near 
resembling  the  leaves  of  the  Pomegranate  tree  that 
groweth  with  us  that  they  soon  deceive  many  that 
are  not  expert  therein,  being  somewhat  broad  and 
long  and  pointed  at  the  ends,  abiding  always  green. 
At  the  joints  of  the  branches,  where  the  leaves  stand, 
come  forth  the  flowers  upon  small  footstalks,  every 
one  by  itself,  consisting  of  five  small  white  leaves, 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  221 

with  white  threads  in  the  middle,  smelling  also  very 


sweet." 


According  to  the  Greeks,  Myrtle  was  a  priestess 
of  Venus  and  an  especial  favorite  of  the  goddess, 
who,  wishing  to  preserve  her  from  a  too  ardent 
suitor,  turned  her  into  this  plant,  which  continues 
odorous  and  green  throughout  the  year.  Having 
the  virtue  of  creating  and  preserving  love  and  being 
consecrated  to  Venus,  the  mrytle  was  symbolic  of 
love.  Consequently  it  was  used  for  the  wreaths  of 
brides,  as  the  orange-blossom  is  to-day.  Venus  wore 
a  wreath  of  myrtle  when  Paris  awarded  her  the 
Golden  Apple  for  beauty, — perhaps  in  memory  of 
the  day  when  she  sprang  from  the  foam  of  the  sea 
and,  wafted  ashore  by  Zephyrus,  was  crowned  with 
myrtle  by  the  Morning  Hours !  Myrtle  was  always 
planted  around  the  temples  dedicated  to  Venus. 

Rapin  writes: 

When  once,  as  Fame  reports,  the  Queen  of  Love 

In  Ida's  valley  raised  a  Myrtle  grove, 

Young  wanton  Cupids  danced  a  summer's  night 

Round  the  sweet  place  by  Cynthia's  silver  light. 

Venus  this  charming  green  alone  prefers, 

And  this  of  all  the  verdant  kind  is  hers: 

Hence  the  bride's  brow  with  Myrtle  wreath  is  graced, 

Hence  in  Elysian  Fields  are  myrtles  said 


222      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

To  favor  lovers  with  their  friendly  shade, 

There  Phaedra,  Procris  (ancient  poets  feign) 

And  Eriphyle  still  of  love  complain 

Whose  unextinguished  flames  e'en  after  death  remain. 

The  Romans  always  displayed  myrtle  lavishly 
at  weddings,  feasts,  and  on  all  days  celebrating  vic- 
tories. With  the  Hebrews  the  myrtle  was  the 
symbol  of  peace;  and  among  many  Oriental  races 
there  is  a  tradition  that  Adam  brought  a  slip  of 
myrtle  from  the  Garden  of  Eden  because  he  consid- 
ered it  the  choicest  of  fragrant  flowers. 

The  myrtle  was  early  loved  in  England.  In  one 
of  the  old  Roxburgh  Ballads  of  the  Fifteenth  Cen- 
tury a  lover  presses  his  suit  by  promising : 

And  I  will  make  the  beds  of  Roses, 
And  a  thousand  fragrant  posies ; 
A  cap  of  flowers  and  a  kirtle 
Embroidered  with  leaves  of  myrtle. 

In  those  days  and  long  afterward  there  was  a 
saying  that  "if  you  want  to  be  sure  of  your  myrtle 
taking  root,  then  you  must  spread  out  your  dress 
grandly  and  look  proud"  when  you  are  planting 
your  slip.  We  can  imagine  one  of  the  Fifteenth  Cen- 
tury ladies  spreading  her  voluminous  and  flowing 
robes  with  majestic  grace  and  holding  her  head 
adorned  with  the  tall  pointed  cap,  or  hennin,  with 


"SWEET  SUMMER  BUDS"  223 

veil  fluttering  from  its  peak  as  she  planted  the  little 
flower  in  her  tiny  walled  Garden  of  Delight ! 

There  is  a  saying,  too,  that  one  must  never  pass 
a  sweet  myrtle  bush  without  picking  a  spray.  The 
flowering  myrtle  is  considered  the  luckiest  of  all 
plants  to  have  in  the  window,  but  it  must  be  watered 
every  day. 


Autumn 

"HERBS  OF  GRACE"   AND  "DRAMS  OF 
POISON" 


Rosemary  and  Rue 

ROSEMARY  (Rosmarinus  officinalis).  Rose- 
mary "delights  in  sea-spray,"   whence  its 
name.    "The  cheerful  Rosemary,"  as  Spen- 
ser calls  it,  was  in  high  favor  in  Shakespeare's  day. 
The  plant  was  not  only  allowed  a  corner  in  the 
kitchen-garden;  but  it  was  trained  over  arbors  and 
allowed  to  run  over  the  mounds  and  banks  pretty 
much  at  its  own  sweet  will.     "As  for  Rosemarie," 
said  Sir  Thomas  More,  "I  let  it  run  all  over  my  gar- 
den walls,  not  only  because  my  bees  love  it,  but  be- 
cause it  is  the  herb  sacred  t)  remembrance,  and, 
therefore,  to  friendship ;  whence  a  spray  of  it  hath  a 
dumb  language  that  maketh  it  the  chosen  emblem 
at  our  funeral-wakes  and  in  our  burial-grounds." 
Ophelia  handed  a  sprig  of  rosemary  to  her  brother 

with  the  words:  "There  's  rosemary;  That 's  for  re- 

224 


"A  CURIOUS-KNOTTED  GARDEN,"  VREDEMAN  DE  VRIES 


GARDEN  WITH   ARBORS,  VREDEMAN   DE   VRIES 


"HERBS  OF  GRACE"  22? 

membrance ;  pray  you,  love,  remember."  Probably 
she  knew  the  old  song  in  the  "Handful  of  Pleasant 
Delights"  *  where  occurs  the  verse: 

Rosemary  is  for  remembrance 

Between  us   day   and  night, 
Wishing  that  I  might  always  have 

You  present  in  my  sight. 

Rosemary  was  used  profusely  at  weddings 
among  the  decorations  and  the  strewings  on  the 
floor.  A  sprig  of  it  was  always  placed  in  the  wine 
to  insure  the  bride's  happiness. 

The  herb  was  also  conspicuous  at  funerals, 
naturally  enough  as  the  herb  was  emblematic  of  re- 
membrance. The  Friar  in  "Romeo  and  Juliet"  ex- 
claims : 

Dry  up  your  tears  and  stick  your  rosemary 
On  this  fair  corse.2 

Sometimes  the  plant  was  associated  with  rue  as  when 
in  "The  Winter's  Tale"  3  Perdita  says, 

Give  me  those  flowers,  Dorcas : — reverend  sirs, 
For  you  there  's  rosemary  and  rue ;  these  keep 
Seeming  and  savour  the  whole  winter  through. 

Most  important  was  rosemary  at  Christmas-tide. 
It  had  a  place  among  the  holly,  bay,  ivy,  and  mistle- 

1  See  p.  127. 

2  Act  IV,  Scene  V. 

8  Act  IV,  Scene  III. 


226      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

toe  to  which  it  added  its  peculiar  and  delicious  per- 
fume. Moreover,  it  was  said  that  rosemary  brought 
happiness  to  those  who  used  it  among  the  Christmas 
decorations. 

Rosemary  also  garlanded  that  most  important 
dish  of  ceremony — the  boar's  head,  which  the  butler 
(or  sewer)  bore  into  the  hall  of  great  houses  and 
famous  institutions,  like  the  colleges  of  Oxford  and 
Cambridge  and  the  City  Companies,  on  a  silver  dish, 
preceded  by  a  flourish  of  trumpets.  The  carol  he 
sung  began : 

The  boar's  head  in  hand  bring  I, 
With  garland  gay  and  rosemary. 

Lyte  said:  "Rosemary  comforteth  the  brain  and 
restoreth  speech,  especially  the  conserve  made  of 
the  flowers  thereof  with  sugar."  Worn  on  the  per- 
son it  was  thought  to  strengthen  the  memory  and 
to  make  the  wearer  successful  in  everything.  The 
famous  Hungary-water,  so  favorite  a  perfume  in 
the  days  of  Elizabeth  and  after,  was  distilled  from 
rosemary.  The  leaves  were  used  as  a  flavor  in  cook- 
ing (just  as  the  Italians  use  it  to-day).  Placed  in 
chests  and  wardrobes,  rosemary  preserved  clothing 
from  insidious  moth.  According  to  astrologers, 
rosemary  was  an  herb  of  the  sum- 


"HERBS  OF  GRACE"  227 

"The  common  Rosemary  (Libanotis  Coronaria 
sive  Rosmarinum  vulgare)  is  so  well  known,"  says 
Parkinson,  "through  all  our  land,  being  in  every 
woman's  garden,  that  it  were  sufficient  to  name  it  as 
an  ornament  among  other  sweet  herbs  and  flowers 
in  our  gardens,  seeing  every  one  can  describe  it ;  but 
that  I  may  say  something  of  it,  it  is  well  observed, 
as  well  in  this  our  Land  (where  it  hath  been  planted 
in  Noblemen's  and  great  men's  gardens  against  brick 
walls)  as  beyond  the  Seas  in  the  natural  places 
where  it  groweth,  that  it  riseth  up  unto  a  very  great 
height,  with  a  great  and  woody  stem  of  that  compass 
that,  being  cloven  out  into  thin  boards,  it  hath  served 
to  make  lutes,  or  such-like  instruments,  and  here 
with  carpenter's  rules  and  to  divers  other  purposes, 
branching  out  into  divers  and  sundry  arms  that  ex- 
tend a  great  way  and  from  them  again  into  many 
other  smaller  branches  whereon  are  set  at  several 
distances  at  the  joints,  many  very  narrow  long 
leaves,  green  above  and  whitish  underneath,  among 
which  come  forth  toward  the  tops  of  the  stalks, 
divers  sweet  gaping  flowers,  of  a  pale  or  bleak  bluish 
color,  many  set  together,  standing  in  whitish  husks. 
The  whole  plant  as  well,  leaves  as  flowers,  smelleth 
exceeding  sweet. 

"Rosemary    is    called    by    the    ancient    writers 


228      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

Libanotis,  but  with  this  difference,  Stephanomatica, 
that  is  Coronaria,  because  there  were  other  plants 
called  Libanotis,  that  were  for  other  uses,  as  this  for 
garlands,  where  flowers  and  sweet  herbs  were  put 
together.  The  Latins  called  it  Rosmarinum.  Some 
would  make  it  to  be  Cueorum  nigrum  of  Theophras- 
tus,  as  they  would  make  Lavender  to  be  his  Cueorum 
album,  but  Matthiolus  hath  sufficiently  confuted 
that  error. 

"Rosemary  is  almost  of  as  great  use  as  Bays  or 
any  other  herb,  both  for  inward  and  outward 
remedies  and  as  well  for  civil  as  physical  purposes. 
Inwardly  for  the  head  and  heart ;  outwardly  for  the 
sinews  and  joints.  For  civil  uses,  as  all  do  know, 
at  weddings,  funerals,  etc.,  to  bestow  among  friends; 
and  the  physical  are  so  many  that  you  might  be  as 
well  tired  in  the  reading  as  I  in  the  writing,  if  I 
should  set  down  all  that  might  be  said  of  it." 

RUE  (Ruta  graveolus).  Rue  was  a  much  valued 
plant  in  Shakespeare's  time.  There  were  many 
superstitions  about  it  which  seem  to  have  been  sur- 
vivals from  ancient  days,  for  rue  is  supposed  to  have 
been  the  moly  which  Homer  says  Mercury  gave  to 
Ulysses  to  withstand  the  enchantments  of  Circe. 
Miraculous  powers  were  attributed  to  rue:  it  was 
said  to  quicken  the  sight,  to  stir  up  the  spirits,  to 


"HERBS  OF  GRACE"  229 

sharpen  the  wit,  to  cure  madness,  and  to  cause  the 
dumb  to  speak.  It  was  also  an  excellent  antidote 
against  poison  and  the  very  smell  of  it  insured 
preservation  against  the  plague.  Rue  was,  there- 
fore, very  popular  and  was  much  used  as  a  disin- 
fectant. 

Parkinson  tells  us : 

Garden  Rue  (Ruta),  or  Herbe  Grace,  growetri 
up  with  hard  whitish  woody  stalks  whereon  are  set 
divers  branches  of  leaves  being  divided  into  many 
small  ones,  which  are  somewhat  thick  and  round 
pointed,  of  a  bluish-green  color.  The  flowers  stand 
at  the  tops  of  the  stalks,  consisting  of  four  small 
yellow  leaves,  with  a  green  button  in  the  middle, 
and  divers  small  yellow  threads  about  it,  which 
growing  ripe,  contain  within  them  small  black  seeds. 

"The  many  good  properties  whereunto  Rue 
serveth  hath,  I  think,  in  former  times  caused  the 
English  name  of  Herbe  Grace  to  be  given  unto  it. 
For  without  doubt  it  is  a  most  wholesome  herb,  al- 
though bitter  and  strong.  Some  do  wrap  up  a  bead 
roll  of  the  virtues  of  Rue,  as  Macer  the  poet  and 
others,  in  whom  you  shall  find  them  set  down  to  be 
good  for  the  head,  eyes,  breast,  liver,  heart,  spleen, 
etc." 

Gerard  quaintly  said: 


230      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

"It  is  reported  that  if  a  man  be  anointed  with  the 
juice  of  rue,  the  bi tings  of  serpents,  scorpions,  wasps, 
etc.,  will  not  hurt  him.  When  the  weasel  is  to  fight 
with  the  serpent,  she  armeth  herself  by  eating  rue 
against  the  might  of  the  serpent." 

Another  quaint  idea  was  that  rue  throve  best  if  a 
clipping  from  the  plant  was  stolen  from  a  neighbor's 
garden.  Like  rosemary,  rue  was  considered  by  the 
astrologers  as  an  herb  of  the  sun  and  was  placed 
under  the  sign  of  Leo. 

Rue  was  also  called  the  herb  of  grace  and  the 
"serving  man's  joy."  Shakespeare  frequently  refers 
to  the  herb  o'  grace:  once  in  connection  with  salad 
in  "All 's  Well  That  Ends  Well."  l 

Ophelia  has  rue  among  her  flowers  when  she  dis- 
tributes appropriate  blossoms  to  the  courtiers.  She 
says: 

There  's  rue  for  you ;  and  some  for  me ; 
We  may  call  it  herb  of  grace  o'  Sundays. 
Oh,  you  must  wear  your  rue  with  a  difference. 

Again  we  find  rue  in  the  Duke  of  York's  garden 
in  "King  Richard  II."  After  the  sad  queen  and 
her  ladies  have  departed,  bewailing  the  news  of  the 
king's  deposition,  the  gardener,  looking  after  them, 
exclaims: 

1  See  p.  237. 


"HERBS  OF  GRACE"  231 

Poor  queen !   So  that  thy  state  might  be  no  worse, 
I  would  my  skill  were  subject  to  thy  curse. — 
Here  did  she  fall  a  tear;  here,  in  this  place, 
I  '11  set  a  bank  of  rue,  sour  herb  of  grace  : 
Rue,  even  for  ruth,  here  shortly  shall  be  seen, 
In  the  remembrance  of  a  weeping  queen.1 


II 

Lavender,  Mints,  and  Fennel 

LAVENDER  (Lavendula  Spica).  "Hot  laven- 
der," Perdita  calls  it.  Why  is  this?  Turning  to 
Gerard  for  an  explanation,  we  find  he  says :  "Laven- 
der is  hot  and  dry  in  the  third  degree  and  of  a  sub- 
stance consisting  of  many  airy  and  spiritual  parts." 
Gerard  had  lavender  in  his  garden  and  so  did  Parkin- 
son, who  says: 

"It  is  called  of  some  Nardus  Italica  and  Laven- 
dula, the  greater  is  called  Fcemina  and  the  lesser 
Mas.  We  do  call  them  generally  Lavender,  or 
Lavender  Spike,  and  the  Lesser  Spike.  Lavender 
is  little  used  in  physic  but  outwardly:  the  oil  for 
cold  and  benumbed  parts  and  is  almost  wholly  spent 
with  us  for  to  perfume  linen,  apparrell,  gloves, 
leather,  etc.,  and  the  dried  flowers  to  comfort  and 
dry  up  the  moisture  of  a  cold  brain. 

'Act  III,  Scene  IV. 


232      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

"Our  ordinary  Garden  Lavender  riseth  up  with 
a  hard  woody  stem  about  the  ground  parted  into 
many  small  branches  whereon  are  set  whitish  long 
and  narrow  leaves  by  couples;  from  among  which 
riseth  up  naked  square  stalks  with  two  leaves  at  a 
joint  and  at  the  top  divers  small  husks  standing 
round  about  them  formed  in  long  or  round  heads  or 
spikes  with  purple  gaping  flowers  springing  out  of 
each  of  them.  The  heads  of  the  flowers  are  used 
to  be  put  among  linen  and  apparrell." 

Because  of  its  scent,  lavender  was  often  included 
in  the  nosegay.  Lavender  was  much  loved  by  sweet- 
hearts. In  the  "Handful  of  Pleasant  Delights" 
(1584)  it  is  described  thus: 

Lavender  is  for  lovers   true, 

Whichever  more  be  saine, 
Desiring  always   for   to  have 

Some  pleasure  for  their  pain. 
And  when  that  they  obtained  have 

The  Love  that  they  require, 
Then  have  they  all  their  perfect  joy 

And  quenched  is  the  fire. 

Lavender  belongs  to  the  crowfoot  family,  and  there- 
fore is  related  to  the  columbine,  buttercup,  and 
monk's-hood  (aconite).  The  ancients  used  it  in 
their  baths,  whence  the  name  from  the  Latin  lavare, 
to  wash.  The  Elizabethans  loved,  as  we  do  to-day, 


"HERBS  OF  GRACE"  233 

to  place  bags  of  dried  lavender  among  the  household 
linen. 

MINTS  (Mentha).  Mints  occur  in  Perdita's 
list  with  "hot  lavender,  thyme  and  savory."  Al- 
though many  kinds  of  mint  were  cultivated  in  gar- 
dens, Parkinson  mentions  only  three : 

"The  Red  Mint,  or  Brown  Mint,  with  dark  green 
nicked  leaves,  reddish  flowers  and  of  a  reasonable 
good  scent;  Speare  Mint,  greener  and  paler  leaves, 
with  flowers  growing  in  long  ears,  or  spikes,  of  a 
pale  red,  or  blush,  color;  and  Parti-colored,  or 
White  Mint,  with  leaves  more  nicked,  half  white 
and  half  green,  and  flowers  in  long  heads,  close  set 
together  of  a  bluish  color. 

"Mints  are  oftentimes  used  in  baths  with  Balm 
and  other  herbs  as  a  help  to  comfort  and  strengthen 
the  nerves  and  sinews,  either  outwardly  applied  or 
inwardly  drunk.  Applied  with  salt,  it  is  a  good 
help  for  the  biting  of  a  mad  dog.  It  is  used  to  be 
boiled  with  mackerel  and  other  fish.  Being  dried, 
it  is  often  and  much  used  with  pennyroyal  to  put 
into  puddings,  as  also  among  pease  that  are  boiled 
for  pottage." 

In  Elizabethan  days  it  was  the  custom  to  strew 
churches  with  mint.  In  an  Elizabethan  play, 
"Appius  and  Virginia,"  these  lines  occur : 


234      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

Thou  knave,  but  for  thee  ere  this  time  of  day 
My  lady's  fair  pew  had  been  strewed  full  gay 
With  primroses,  cowslips  and  violets  sweet, 
With  mints,  with  marigold  and  marjoram  meek. 

Pliny  said  "the  smell  of  mint  doth  stir  up  the 
mind  and  taste  to  a  greedy  desire  of  meat."  This 
carries  mint-sauce  back  into  antiquity!  Medieval 
writers  believed  that  the  smell  of  mint  refreshed 
the  head  and  memory;  and  in  Medieval  days  the 
herb  was  dedicated  to  the  Virgin  and  called  Herba 
Sancta  Maria  and  Menthe  de  Notre  Dame.  The 
ancients  dedicate  it  to  Venus;  hence  it  was  used  as 
a  garland  for  brides — corona  Veneris.  The  old  myth 
had  it  that  Menthe  was  a  nymph  beloved  of  Pluto 
and  transformed  into  an  herb  by  Proserpina  who  had 
now  become  sufficiently  interested  in  the  husband 
who  had  carried  her  off  against  her  will  to  be  jealous. 

FENNEL  (Fceniculum  vulgare}.  Falstaff  speaks 
of  fennel  as  a  relish  for  conger  in  "King  Henry 
IV" ; 1  and  Ophelia  presents  fennel  to  the  King  to 
clear  his  sight  just  as  she  gave  rosemary  to  Laertes 
to  refresh  his  memory,2  for  according  to  a  belief  held 
by  Pliny:  "Fennel  hath  a  wonderful  property  to 

'Act  II,  Scene  IV. 

'"There's  fennel  for  you  and  columbines"  ("Hamlet";  Act  IV, 
Scene  V). 


"HERBS  OF  GRACE"  235 

mundify  our  sight  and  take  away  the  film,  or  web, 
that  overcasteth  and  dimmeth  our  eyes." 

"There  are  three  sorts  of  Fennel,"  says  Parkin- 
son, "whereof  two  are  sweet.  The  one  of  them  is 
the  ordinary  sweet  fennel  whose  seeds  are  larger 
and  yellower  than  the  common.  The  other  sweet 
Fennel  is  not  much  known  and  called  Cardus  Fen- 
nel by  those  that  sent  it  out  of  Italy.  Fennel  is  of 
great  use  to  trim  up  and  strew  upon  fish,  as  also  to 
boil,  or  put  among  fish  of  divers  sorts,  Cowcumbers 
pickled  and  other  fruits,  etc.  The  roots  are  used 
with  parsley  roots  to  be  boiled  in  broths  and  drinks. 
The  seed  is  much  used  to  be  put  into  pippin  gies 
and  divers  other  such  baked  fruits,  as  also  into  bread 
to  give  it  the  better  relish. 

"The  Sweet  Cardus  Fennel  being  sent  by  Sir 
Henry  Wotton  to  John  Tradescant  had  likewise  a 
large  direction  with  it  how  to  dress  it,  for  they  used 
to  white  it  after  it  hath  been  transplanted  for  their 
uses,  which  by  reason  of  the  sweetness  by  nature 
and  the  tenderness  of  art  causeth  it  to  be  most  de- 
lightful to  the  taste,  especially  with  them  that  are 
accustomed  to  feed  on  green  herbs." 

Another  ancient  belief  preserved  by  Pliny  was 
"that  serpents  eat  fennel  because  it  restored  their 


236       THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

youth  by  causing  them  to  cast  their  old  skins  and 
they  recovered  their  sight  by  eating  the  plant." 

The  flowers  of  the  fennel  are  yellow. 

The  Greek  name  for  fennel  is  marathon.  The 
Battle  of  Marathon  took  its  name  from  the  plant. 
The  story  goes  that  a  youth  named  Pheidippides 
ran  to  Sparta  to  seek  aid  for  Athens  when  the  Per- 
sian fleet  appeared,  and  he  was  told  that  the  Spartans 
could  not  come  until  after  the  full  moon.  Very 
disheartened,  he  was  returning  to  Athens  when  Pan 
appeared  to  him  and  promised  victory,  giving  the 
youth  a  piece  of  fennel  as  a  token  of  his  prophecy. 
The  battle  took  place  on  a  field  full  of  fennel  and 
was  known  henceforth  as  the  Battle  of  Marathon 
(490  B.  c.).  Statues  of  the  youth  always  repre- 
sented him  as  holding  a  sprig  of  fennel.  Brown- 
ing has  told  the  story  in  his  "Pheidippides." 

Ill 

Sweet  Marjoram,  Thyme,  and  Savory 

MARJORAM  (Origanum  vulgar e)  was  a  favo- 
rite plant  in  Tudor  and  Stuart  times.  An  old  writer 
informs  us  that  "Sweet  Marjoram  is  not  only  much 
used  to  please  the  outward  sense  in  nosegays  and 
in  the  windows  of  houses,  as  also  in  sweet  powders. 


"HERBS  OF  GRACE"  237 

sweet  bays  and  sweet  washing  waters,  but  is  also  of 
much  use  in  physic." 

Perdita  classes  it  with  hot  lavender  and  savory.1 
Shakespeare,  appreciating  its  delicate  and  delight- 
ful scent,  brings  this  out  most  beautifully  in  his 
"Sonnet  XCIX": 

The  forward  violet  thus  did  I  chide : — 

Sweet  thief,  whence  didst  thou  steal  thy  sweet  that  smells 

If  not  from  my  love's  breath  ?    The  purple  pride 

Which  on  thy  soft  cheek  for  complexion  dwells, 

In  my  love's  veins  thou  hast  too  grossly  dyed. 

The  lily  I  condemned  for  thy  hand, 

And  buds  of  marjoram  had  stolen  thy  hair. 

This  comparison  is  even  more  lovely  than  Milton's 
description  of  Sabrina  with  her  "loose  braid  of 
amber-dropping  hair." 

In  Shakespeare's  time  several  species  were  grown: 
the  common,  the  winter,  and  the  sweet.  They  were 
all  favorite  pot-herbs  and  were  used  in  salads,  if 
we  may  believe  the  Clown  in  "All 's  Well  That 
Ends  Well": 

LAFEN.  'T  was  a  good  lady,  'twas  a  good  lady;  we  may 
pick  a  thousand  sallets  ere  we  light  on  such  an- 
other herb. 

CLOWN.  Indeed,  sir,  she  was  the  Sweet  Marjoram  of  the 
sallet,  or,  rather,  the  Herb  of  Grace. 

'"The  Winter's  Tale";  Act  IV,  Scene  III. 


238      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

LAFEN.    They   are  not  sallet-herbs,   you  knave,  they  are 

nose-herbs. 

CLOWN.  I  am  no  great  Nebuchadnezzar;  sir,  I  have  not 
much  skill  in  grass.1 

Parkinson  writes: 

"The  common  Sweet  Marjoram  (Marierome)  is 
a  low  herb,  little  above  a  foot  high,  full  of  branches 
and  small  whitish,  soft,  roundish  leaves,  smelling 
very  sweet.  At  the  tops  of  the  branches  stand  divers 
small,  scaly  heads,  like  unto  knots,  of  a  whitish 
green  color,  out  of  which  come,  here  and  there,  small, 
white  flowers,  and  afterward  small  reddish  seed. 
Called  Mariorama  in  Latin,  it  is  taken  of  most 
writers  to  be  the  Amaracus,  or  Sampsuchum,  of 
Dioscorides,  Theophrastus  and  Pliny." 

According  to  the  Greek  myth  a  young  man  named 
Amarakos  was  employed  in  the  household  of  the 
King  of  Cyprus.  One  day  when  he  was  carrying  a 
vase  of  perfumes  he  dropped  it,  and  he  was  so  much 
humiliated  by  his  carelessness  that  he  fell  and  lost 
consciousness.  The  gods  then  changed  him  into 
the  sweet  herb  amarakos,  or  amaracus,  which  is  the 
Greek  name  for  this  plant.  Rapin  thought  it  owed 
its  existence  to  Venus : 

And  tho'  Sweet  Marjoram  will  your  garden  paint 
With  no  gay  colors,  yet  preserve  the  plant, 
'Act  IV,  Scene  V. 


"HERBS  OF  GRACE"  239 

Whose  fragrance  will  invite  your  kind  regard 
When  her  known  virtues  have  her  worth  declared : 
On  Simois'  shore  fair  Venus  raised  the  plant, 
Which  from  the  Goddess'  touch  derived  her  scent. 

THYME  (Thymus  Serpyllum).  Thyme  has  al- 
ways been  appreciated  by  those  who  delight  in 
aromatic  perfume.  It  was  one  of  those  plants  that 
Lord  Bacon  said  were  so  delicious  when  trodden 
upon  and  crushed.  Thyme  was  the  symbol  for 
sweetness  in  Elizabethan  days. 

And  sweet  thyme  true 

was  a  favorite  expression.  "Sweet  thyme  true" 
occurs  in  connection  with  roses,  "maiden  pinks," 
and  daisies  in  the  song  in  "The  Two  Noble  Kins- 
men." * 

Fairies  were  thought  to  be  particularly  fond  of 
thyme,  and  that  is  one  reason  why  Shakespeare 
covered  the  bank  where  Titania  was  wont  to  sleep 
with  wild  thyme.  The  other  reason  was  that  he 
chose  the  sweetest  flowers  for  perfume  for  the 
canopy  and  couch  of  the  Fairy  Queen:  musk-roses, 
eglantine,  honeysuckle,  violets,  and  wild  thyme 
mingling  the  most  delicious  of  scents.  The  word 
comes  from  the  Greek  and  Latin  thy  mum.  Thyme 

*Act  I,  Scene  I. 


240      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

covered  Mount  Hymettus  and  gave  to  the  honey 
produced  there  a  particularly  delicious  aromatic 
flavor.  The  "honey  of  Mount  Hymettus"  became 
a  proverb.  Hybla  in  Sicily  was  no  less  famed  for 
its  thyme,  and,  consequently,  its  honey.  Thyme  is 
especially  a  "bee-plant";  and  those  who  would  see 
their  gardens  full  of  bees  would  do  well  to  plant 
thyme  with  lavish  hand.  Ladies  used  to  embroider 
a  bee  hovering  over  a  sprig  of  thyme  on  the  scarves 
they  gave  to  their  lovers — a  symbol  of  action  and 
honor.  Thyme,  too,  was  supposed  to  renew  the 
spirits  of  man  and  beast  and  it  was  deemed  a  power- 
ful antidote  against  melancholy. 

Turning  to  our  old  friend,  Parkinson,  we  find 
that 

"The  ordinary  garden  Thyme  (Thymus  vulga- 
tius  sive  durius)  is  a  small,  low,  woody  plant  with 
brittle  branches  and  small,  hard,  green  leaves,  as 
every  one  knoweth,  having  small  white  purplish 
flowers  standing  round  about  the  tops  of  the  stalks. 
The  seed  is  small  and  brown,  darker  than  Marjoram. 
The  root  is  woody  and  abideth  well  divers  Winters. 

"To  set  down  all  the  particular  uses  whereunto 
Thyme  is  applied  were  to  weary  both  the  writer  and 
the  reader.  I  will  but  only  note  out  a  few,  for  be- 
sides the  physical  uses  to  many  purposes  for  the 


SHAKESPEARE    GARDEN,    VAN    CORTLANDT    HOUSE,    VAN    CORTLANDT    PARK,    COLONIAL 
DAMES  OF  THE  STATE  OF   NEW  YORK 


SHAKESPEARE    GARDEN,    VAN    CORTLANDT    HOUSE,    VAN    CORTLANDT    PARK,    COLONIAL 
DAMES  OF  THE  STATE  OF  NEW  YORK 


"HERBS  OF  GRACE"  241 

head,  stomach,  spleen,  etc.,  there  is  no  herb  almost 
of  more  use  in  the  houses  both  of  high  and  low,  rich 
and  poor,  both  for  inward  and  outward  occasions, 
— outwardly  for  bathings  among  other  hot  herbs 
and  among  other  sweet  herbs  for  strewings.  In- 
wardly in  most  sorts  of  broths,  with  Rosemary,  as 
also  with  other  faseting  (or  rather  farsing)  herbs,1 
and  to  make  sauce  for  divers  sorts,  both  fish  and 
flesh,  as  to  stuff  the  belly  of  a  goose  to  be  roasted 
and  after  put  into  the  sauce  and  the  powder  with 
bread  to  strew  on  meat  when  it  is  roasted,  and  so 
likewise  on  roasted  or  fried  fish.  It  is  held  by  divers 
to  be  a  speedy  remedy  against  the  sting  of  a  bee, 
being  bruised  and  laid  thereon. 

"The  wild  Thyme  (Serpyllum  hor tense  sive 
mains),  growth  upright,  but  yet  is  low,  with  divers 
slender  branches  and  small  round  green  leaves, 
somewhat  like  unto  small  fine  Marjoram,  and  smell- 
ing somewhat  like  unto  it.  The  flowers  grow  in 
roundels  at  the  tops  of  the  branches  of  a  purplish 
color.  And  in  another  of  this  kind  they  are  of  a 
pure  white  color.  There  is  another  also  that  smelleth 
somewhat  like  unto  Musk,  and  therefore  called 
Musk  Thyme,  whose  green  leaves  are  not  so  small 
as  the  former,  but  larger  and  longer." 

*  Tarsi,  stuffing. 


242      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

SAVORY  (Satureia).  This  herb  is  mentioned  by 
Perdita.  It  was  a  great  favorite  in  the  old  herb- 
garden  and  was  probably  introduced  into  England 
by  the  Romans.  It  is  mentioned  in  Anglo-Saxon 
recipes  as  "savorie."  Both  the  winter  and  summer 
savory  were  used  as  seasoning  for  dressing  and 
sauces.  "The  Winter  Savory  is  used  as  a  condiment 
and  sauce  to  meat,  to  put  into  puddings,  sausages 
and  such-like  kinds  of  meat."  So  says  an  old  writer, 
who  continues:  "Some  do  use  the  powder  of  the 
herb  dried  to  mix  with  grated  bread  to  bread  their 
meat,  be  it  fish  or  flesh,  to  give  it  the  quicker  relish." 

Parkinson  writes : 

"The  Winter  Savory  (Satureia  sive  Thymbra)  is 
a  small,  low,  bushy  herb,  very  like  unto  hyssop,  but 
not  above  a  foot  high,  with  divers  small,  hard 
branches  and  hard,  dark,  green  leaves  thereon, 
thicker  set  together  than  the  former  by  so  much,  and 
as  thick  as  common  Hyssop,  sometimes  with  four 
leaves,  or  more,  at  a  joint,  of  a  reasonable  strong 
scent,  yet  not  so  strong  or  quick  as  the  former. 
The  flowers  are  of  a  pale  purplish  color,  set  at  sev- 
eral distances  at  the  tops  of  the  stalks  with  leaves 
at  the  joints  also  with  them,  like  the  former.  The 
root  is  woody  with  divers  small  strings  thereat,  and 
abideth  all  the  winter  with  his  green  leaves.  It  is 


"HERBS  OF  GRACE"  243 

more  usually  increased  by  slipping,  or  dividing,  the 
root  and  new  setting  it,  severally  again  in  the  Spring, 
than  by  sowing  the  seed." 

IV 

Sweet  Balm  and  Camomile 

SWEET  BALM  (Melissa  officinalis).  Sweet 
Anne  Page  commanded  the  elves  to  bestow  good 
luck  throughout  Windsor  Castle :  * 

The  several  chairs  of  order  look  you  scour 
With  juice  of  balm  and  every  precious  flower. 

The  Greek  and  Latin  names,  metis  sa^  mellis- 
sophyllum,  and  apiastrum,  show  that  this  was  a  bee- 
plant,  which  was  still  the  case  in  Shakespeare's  time. 

"It  is  an  herb,"  says  Parkinson,  "wherein  bees  do 
much  delight";  and  he  also  tells  us  that  if  balm 
is  rubbed  on  the  inside  of  the  hive  "it  draweth  others 
to  resort  thither."  He  goes  on  to  describe  it  as  fol- 
lows: 

"The  Garden  Balm  hath  divers  square  blackish 
green  stalks  and  round,  hard,  dark,  green  pointed 
leaves  growing  thereon  by  couples,  a  little  notched 
about  the  edges;  of  a  pleasant  sweet  scent  drawing 
near  to  the  scent  of  a  Lemon  or  Citron;  and  there- 

'"The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor";  Act  V,  Scene  V. 


244      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

fore  of  some  called  Citrago.  The  flowers  grow  about 
the  tops  of  the  stalks  at  certain  distances,  being  small 
and  gaping,  of  a  pale  carnation  color,  almost  white. 
The  roots  fasten  themselves  strongly  on  the  ground 
and  endure  many  years.  It  is  increased  by  dividing 
the  roots;  for  the  leaves  die  down  to  the  ground 
every  year,  leaving  no  show  of  leaf  or  stalk  in  the 
Winter.  Balm  is  often  used  among  other  hot  and 
sweet  herbs  to  make  baths  and  washings  for  men's 
bodies  in  the  Summer  time.  The  herb  without  all 
question  is  an  excellent  help  to  comfort  the  heart, 
as  the  very  smell  may  induce  any  so  to  believe.  It 
is  also  good  to  heal  green  wounds  being  made  into 
salve.  I  verily  think  that  our  forefathers  hearing 
of  the  healing  and  comfortable  properties  of  the  true 
natural  Balm  and  finding  this  herb  to  be  so  effectual 
gave  it  the  name  of  Balm  in  imitation  of  his  prop- 
erties and  virtues." 

Arabian  physicians  recommended  balm  for  affec- 
tions of  the  heart  and  hypochondria. 

CAMOMILE  (Anthemis  nobilis).  Falstaff 
points  a  moral  in  the  lowly  camomile :  "Though  the 
Camomile  the  more  it  is  trodden  on  the  faster  it 
grows,  yet  youth  the  more  it  is  wasted  the  sooner 
it  wears."  1  A  similar  idea  occurs  in  Lyly's 

*"King  Henry  IV";  Part  I,  Act  II,  Scene  IV. 


"HERBS  OF  GRACE"  245 

"Euphues"  (1588):  "Though  the  Camomile  the 
more  it  is  trodden  and  pressed  down  the  more  it 
spreadeth,  yet  the  violet  the  oftener  it  is  handled 
and  touched,  the  sooner  it  withereth  and  decayeth." 
Emblem  of  patience,  the  camomile  was  often  used 
to  point  a  moral  and  to  teach  patience.  In  "The 
More  the  Merrier"  ( 1608),  a  character  observes: 

The    Camomile   shall    teach   thee   patience, 
Which  riseth  best  when  trodden  most  upon. 

Because  its  scent  was  brought  out  when  trodden 
upon,  camomile  was  planted  in  and  along  walks  and 
on  the  edges  of  flower-beds.  Its  low  growth  and 
delicious  perfume  made  it  a  very  attractive  border 
plant. 

InLawson's  "New  Orchard"  (about  1616)  there 
are  instructions  for  "Large  walks,  broad  and  long, 
close  and  open  like  the  Tempe  groves  in  Thessaly, 
raised  with  gravel  and  sand,  having  seats  and  banks 
of  Camomile :  all  this  delights  the  mind  and  brings 
health  to  the  body." 

In  Shakespeare's  day  camomile  grew  in  "the  wild 
field  by  Richmond  Green." 

"Our  ordinary  Camomill  [says  Parkinson]  is  well 
known  to  all  to  have  many  small  trailing  branches 
set  with  very  fine  small  leaves  and  spreading  thick 
over  the  ground  taking  root  as  it  spreadeth ;  the  tops 


246      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

of  the  branches  have  white  flowers  with  yellow 
thrums  in  the  middle,  very  like  unto  the  Featherfew, 
but  somewhat  greater  not  so  hard  but  more  soft  and 
gentle  in  handling  and  the  whole  herb  is  to  be  of  a 
very  sweet  scent. 

"Camomill  is  called  Anthemis  Leucanthemis  and 
Leucanthemum  of  the  whiteness  of  the  flowers;  and 
Chamcemcelum  of  the  corrupted  Italian  name  Camo- 
milla.  Some  call  the  naked  Camomill  Chrysanthe- 
mum odoratum.  The  double  Camomill  is  called  by 
some  Chamcemcelum  Romanum  flore  multiplici. 

"Camomill  is  put  to  divers  and  sundry  uses  both 
for  pleasure  and  profit;  both  for  inward  and  out- 
ward diseases,  both  for  the  sick  and  the  sound,  in 
bathings  to  comfort  and  strengthen  the  sound  and 
to  ease  pains  in  the  diseased.  The  flowers  boiled 
in  posset  drink  provoketh  sweat  and  helpeth  to  expel 
colds,  aches  and  other  griefs.  A  syrup  made  of 
the  juice  of  the  double  Camomill  with  the  flowers 
and  white  wine  is  used  by  some  against  jaundice 
and  dropsy." 

V 

Dian's  Bud  and  Monk's-hood  Blue 

DIAN'S  BUD  (Artemesia).  This  plant  is  noth- 
ing more  nor  less  than  absinthe,  or  wormwood.  It  is 


"HERBS  OF  GRACE"  247 

mentioned  under  its  poetic  name  by  Shakespeare  in 
"A  Midsummer  Night's  Dream"  when  Oberon  bids 
Puck  find  him  the  "little  purple  flower  called  Love 
in  Idleness,"  the  juice  of  which  placed  on  sleeping 
eyelids  would  make  man,  or  woman,  madly  dote  on 
the  first  object  beheld  on  awakening,  and  with  which 
he  intended  to  anoint  the  eyelids  of  the  sleeping 
Titania.  He  also  told  the  mischievous  sprite  that 
the  charm  could  be  removed  with  another  herb — 
Dian's  bud,  the  flower  sacred  to  the  goddess  Diana. 
Later  in  the  play,  touching  the  eyes  of  the  spell- 
bound fairy  with  this  second  herb,  Oberon  pro- 
nounces the  following  incantation: 

Be  as  thou  was  wont  to  be, 
See  as  thou  was  wont  to  see ; 
Dian's  bud  on  Cupid's  flower 
Hath  such  force  and  blessed  power. 

From  the  earliest  times  absinthe  was  associated 
with  sorcery  and  was  used  for  incantations.  Pliny 
says  the  traveler  who  carried  it  about  him  would 
never  grow  weary  and  that  it  would  drive  away  any 
lurking  devils  and  counteract  the  evil  eye.  Ovid 
calls  it  absinthium  and  speaks  of  its  bitterness. 

The  Greeks  also  called  it  artemesia  after  the  god- 
dess Artemis,  or  Diana,  and  made  it  a  moon-plant. 


248      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

Very  poetically,  therefore,  Shakespeare  alludes  to 
it  as  "Dian's  Bud," — and  most  appropriately  does 
it  appear  in  the  moon-lit  forest.  Gerard,  however, 
quaintly  says  that  is  was  named  for  Queen  Arteme- 
sia,  wife  of  Mausolus,  King  of  Caria,  who  built  the 
Mausoleum,  which  was  one  of  the  "Seven  Wonders 
of  the  World."  The  ancients  liked  its  flavor  in  their 
wine  as  many  people  still  like  vermouth,  one  of  its 
infusions. 

In  Shakespeare's  time  people  hung  up  sprays  of 
wormwood  to  drive  away  moths  and  fleas ;  and  there 
was  a  homely  verse : 

Whose  chamber  is  swept  and  wormwood  is  thrown 
No  flea  for  his  life  dare  abide  to  be  known. 

Wormwood  was  also  kept  in  drawers  and  closets. 
To  dream  of  the  plant  was  of  good  augury:  happi- 
ness and  domestic  enjoyment  were  supposed  to  re- 
sult. Mugwort  is  another  old  name  for  the  plant. 
MONK'S-HOOD  (Aconitum  Napellus).  This 
plant  has  three  names:  monk's-hood,  wolf's-bane, 
and  aconite.  Aconite  is  the  "dram  of  poison"  that 
Romeo  calls  for,11  and  Shakespeare  alludes  to 
aconitum  in  "King  Henry  IV,"  where  the  king,  ad- 
dressing Thomas  of  Clarence,  compares  its  strength 

1  "Romeo  and  Juliet";  Act  V,  Scene  I. 


"HERBS  OF  GRACE"  249 

and  that  of  gunpowder.  "Though  it  do  work  as 
strong  as  aconitum  or  rash  gunpowder."  Aconite 
was  supposed  in  Elizabethan  days  to  be  an  antidote 
against  the  most  deadly  poison.  Ben  Jonson  in 
"Sejanus"  makes  one  of  his  characters  remark: 

I  have  heard  that  aconite 

Being  timely  taken  hath  a  healing  might 

Against  the  scorpion's  sting.2 

Lord  Bacon  in  "Sylva"  calls  Napellus  "the  most 
powerful  poison  of  all  vegetables." 

Yet  despite  its  poisonous  qualities,  an  English 
garden  lover  writes,  "the  plant  has  always  held,  and 
deservedly,  a  place  among  the  ornamental  plants 
of  our  gardens;  its  stately  habit  and  its  handsome 
leaves  and  flowers  make  it  a  favorite." 

The  ancients,  who  were  unacquainted  with  min- 
eral poisons,  regarded  aconite  as  the  most  deadly  of 
all  poisons  and  believed  that  Hecate  had  caused  the 
plant  to  spring  from  the  venomous  foam  frothing 
from  the  mouth  of  the  three-headed  dog,  Cerberus, 
when  Hercules  took  him  from  Pluto's  dark  realm 
on  one  of  his  Twelve  Labors.  Ovid  describes  the 
aconite  as 

1  Part  II,  Act  IV,  Scene  IV. 
'Act  III,  Scene  III. 


250      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

A  weed  by  sorcerers  renowned 
The  strongest  constitution  to  compound 
Called  aconite,  because  it  can  unlock 
All  bars  and  force  its  passage  through  a  rock. 

In  Greece  it  was  also  known  as  Wolf's-bane  (Lycoc- 
tonuvi),  and  it  was  thought  that  arrow-heads  rubbed 
with  it  would  kill  wolves.  Turner  quaintly  writes 
in  his  "Herbal"  (1568): 

"This  of  all  poisons  is  the  most  hastie  poison, 
howbeit  Pliny  saith  this  herb  will  kill  a  man  if  he 
take  it,  except  it  find  in  a  man  something  to  kill. 
Let  our  Londoners  which  have  of  late  received  this 
blue  Wolf's-bane,  otherwise  called  Monk's  Cane, 
take  heed  that  the  poison  of  the  root  of  this  herb  do 
not  more  harm  than  the  freshness  of  the  flower  hath 
done  pleasure.  Let  them  not  say  but  they  are 
warned." 

Parkinson's  name  for  it  is  Napellus  verus  flore 
cceruleo  (Blue  Helmet-Flower,  or  Monk's-hood). 

"The  Helmet  Flower,"  he  writes,  "hath  divers 
leaves  of  a  fresh  green  color  on  the  upper  side  and 
grayish  underneath,  much  spread  abroad  and  cut 
into  many  slits  and  notches.  The  stalk  riseth  up 
two  or  three  foot  high,  beset  to  the  top  with  the 
like  leaves,  but  smaller.  The  top  is  sometimes  di- 
vided into  two  or  three  branches,  but  more  usually 


"HERBS  OF  GRACE"  251 

without,  whereon  stand  many  large  flowers  one 
above  another,  in  form  very  like  a  hood,  or  open 
helmet,  being  composed  of  five  leaves,  the  upper- 
most of  which  and  the  greatest  is  hollow,  like  unto 
a  helmet,  or  headpiece:  two  other  small  leaves  are 
at  the  sides  of  the  helmet,  closing  it  like  cheeks,  and 
come  somewhat  under,  and  two  other  which  are 
the  smallest  hang  down  like  labels,  or  as  if  a  close 
helmet  were  opened  and  some  pieces  hung  by,  of  a 
perfect,  or  fair,  blue  color  (but  grow  darker  having 
stood  long)  which  causeth  it  to  be  so  nourished  up 
in  Gardens  that  their  flowers,  as  was  usual  in  for- 
mer times  (and  yet  is  in  many  country  places) 
may  be  laid  among  green  herbs  in  windows  and 
rooms  for  the  Summertime;  but  although  their 
beauty  may  be  entertained  for  the  uses  aforesaid, 
yet  beware  they  come  not  near  your  tongue  or  lips, 
lest  they  tell  you  to  your  cost,  they  are  not  so  good 
as  they  seem  to  be.  In  the  middest  of  the  flower, 
when  it  is  open  and  gapeth  wide,  arc  seen  certain 
small  threads  like  beards,  standing  about  a  middle 
head,  which,  when  the  flower  is  past,  groweth  into 
three  o*  four,  or  more,  small  blackish  pods,  con- 
taining in  them  black  seeds.  The  roots  are  brownish 
on  the  outside  and  white  within,  somewhat  big  and 
round  about  and  small  downwards,  somewhat  like 


252      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

unto  a  small,  short  carrot  root,  sometimes  two  being 
joined  at  the  head  together.  It  is  the  true  Napellus 
of  the  ancient  writers,  which  they  so  termed  from 
the  form  of  a  turnip  called  Napus  in  Latin." 

Generally  speaking  the  leaf  and  flower  of  the 
monk's-hood  resemble  the  larkspur;  and,  like  the 
larkspur  and  the  columbine,  the  plant  has  wandered 
away  from  its  original  family,  the  buttercup  tribe. 
The  upper  sepal  has  developed  from  a  spur  into  a~ 
hood. 


"WHEN  ICICLES  HANG  BY  THE  WALL' 


Holly  and  Ivy 

HOLLY  (Ilex  aqui folium).  Holly,  with  its 
beautiful  red  berries  and  unique  leaf,  stiff 
and  prickly,  but  highly  decorative,  is  the 
chief  emblem  of  Christmas.  We  are  continuing  very 
ancient  traditions  when  we  hang  up  our  Christmas 
wreaths  and  garlands.  The  earliest  records  of  the 
human  race  contain  references  to  the  custom  of 
decorating  houses  and  temples  and  evergreens  on 
occasions  of  rejoicing.  Holly  comes  to  us  from 
pagan  usage.  Five  hundred  years  before  the  birth 
of  Christ  the  Romans  had  been  celebrating  their 
midwinter  festival — the  Saturnalia — commemorat- 
ing the  equality  supposed  to  have  existed  on  earth 
in  the  golden  reign  of  Saturn.  The  Saturnalia  was 
a  period  of  general  merry-making  and  relaxation. 
People  gave  each  other  presents,  wished  each  other 

"lo  Saturnalia,"  just  as  we  wish  each  other  "Merry 

253 


254      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

Christmas,"  and  decorated  their  houses  and  temples 
with  evergreens,  among  which  holly  was  conspicu- 
ous. The  early  Christians,  who  celebrated  the  birth 
of  Christ  during  the  Saturnalia,  adorned  their  homes 
with  holly  for  the  purpose  of  safety.  They  would 
have  been  unpleasantly  noticed  had  they  left  their 
homes  undecorated.  After  a  time  holly  became  as- 
sociated with  the  Christian  festival  itself.  As  the 
Christmas  celebration  spread  throughout  Europe 
and  into  Great  Britain,  local  observances  naturally 
became  added  to  the  original  rites;  and  gradually 
to  certain  features  taken  over  from  the  Saturnalia 
were  added  customs  which  the  Germanic  tribes, 
the  Scandinavians,  the  Gauls,  the  Celts,  and  early 
Britons  practised  for  the  midwinter  festival. 
"Thus,"  says  a  modern  writer,  "all  the  pagan  winter 
festivals  were  transmuted  and  sanctified  by  the 
Christian  Church  into  the  beautiful  Christmas  festi- 
val that  keeps  the  world's  heart  young  and  human. 
The  Church  also  brought  from  ancient  observances 
a  number  of  lovable  customs,  such  as  the  giving  of 
presents,  the  lighting  of  candles,  the  burning  of  the 
Yule-log,  the  Boar's  Head,  the  Christmas  Tree,  the 
mistletoe,  the  holly,  laurel  and  other  greens  and 
the  mince-pies." 

At  a  season  when  everything  was  chosen  to  com- 


"ICICLES  HANG  BY  THE  WALL'*  25? 

memorate,  or  invoke,  the  spirit  of  growth,  or  fer- 
tility, the  holly,  mistletoe  and  ivy — all  of  which 
bear  fruit  in  the  winter — become  particularly 
precious.  Beautiful,  cheery  holly,  with  its  glossy, 
prickly  leaves  and  its  coral  bells,  was  a  sacred  plant 
in  the  childhood  of  the  world  and  will  continue  to 
be  a  sacred  plant  as  long  as  the  world  lasts.  We 
may  make  garlands  of  laurel  or  bay-leaves,  we  may 
bind  together  ropes  of  crow's-foot  or  smilax,  and 
we  may  bring  into  our  rooms  pots  of  poinsettia ;  but 
nothing  takes,  or  will  ever  take,  the  place  the  holly 
occupies  in  our  affections.  In  our  literature  holly 
is  honored.  It  now  symbolizes  the  spirit  of  Christ- 
mas as  nothing  else  does. 

One  of  the  earliest  Christmas  carols,  dating  from 
the  Fifteenth  Century,  describes  a  contest  of  Holly 
and  Ivy  for  the  chief  place  in  the  hall.  Holly  is  the 
man  and  Ivy  the  woman.  They  have  an  argument 
(which  is  a  kind  of  duet),  each  setting  forth  his  or 
her  claim  to  superiority.  Finally,  it  is  decided  that 
Holly,  with  his  beautiful  red  berries,  shall  reign  in 
the  hall  instead  of  Ivy,  whose  berries  are  black. 
Moreover,  many  sweet  birds  are  attracted  to  Holly; 
but  only  the  owl  loves  Ivy. 

Holly  is,  of  course,  the  subject  of  many  carols. 
A  typical  one  of  the  Fifteenth  Century  is  as  follows : 


256      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

Here  comes  Holly,  that  is  so  gent, 

Alleluia! 
To  please  all  men  is  his  intent, 

Alleluia! 
But  lord  and  lady  of  the  hall, 

Alleluia! 
Whosoever  against  Holly  call, 

Alleluia! 
Whosoever  against  Holly  do  cry, 

Alleluia! 
In  a  lepe  shall  he  hang  full  high. 

Alleluia! 
Whosoever  against  Holly  do  sing, 

Alleluia! 
He  may  weep  and  his  handys  wring, 

Alleluia ! 

From  the  above  it  will  be  seen  that  it  was  a  crime 
to  say  a  derogatory  word  about  holly.  Holly  was 
not  only  loved  for  its  beauty  but  it  was  a  holy  plant. 
Witches  detested  it  and  it  was  a  charm  against 
their  evil  machinations.  The  name  comes  from  the 
Anglo-Saxon  holegn.  The  Norse  word  is  hulf,  or 
hulver;  and  as  Chaucer  calls  it  "Hulfeere"  we  may 
conclude  that  holly  was  familiar  to  the  people  of 
Chaucer's  time  under  that  name. 

It  is  somewhat  singular  that  Shakespeare  has  writ- 
ten a  song  of  wintry  wind  and  holly  berries  to  be 
sung  in  the  Forest  of  Arden.  It  affords,  however,  a 
delightful  contrast  to  the  sun-lit  summer  woodland. 


"ICICLES  HANG  BY  THE  WALL'*   257 

While  in  it  holly  is  not  actually  described,  Amiens' s 
song  will  always  remain  the  song  of  songs  to  holly: 

Blow,  blow,  thou  winter  wind, 
Thou  art  not  so  unkind 

As  man's  ingratitude; 
Thy   tooth   is   not   so   keen, 
Because   thou  art  not  seen, 

Although  thy  breath  be  rude. 
Heigh  ho!  sing  heigh  ho!  unto  the  green  holly: 
Most  friendship  is  feigning,  most  loving  mere  folly. 

Then  heigh  ho  the  holly ! 

This  life  is  most  jolly. 

Freeze,  freeze,  thou  bitter  sky, 
Thou  dost  not  bite  so  nigh 

As  benefits  forgot; 
Though  thou  the  waters  warp 
Thy  sting  is  not  so  sharp 

As  friend  remembered  not. 

Heigh  ho !  sing,  heigh  ho !  unto  the  green  holly : 
Most  friendship  is  feigning,  most  loving  mere  folly* 

Then,  heigh  ho !  the  holly ! 

This  life  is  most  jolly. 

IVY  (Hedera  Helix).  Shakespeare  mentions  ivy 
twice:  in  "A  Midsummer  Night's  Dream"  where 
Titania,  bidding  Bottom  sleep,  says: 

Sleep  thou  and  I  will  wind  thee  in  my  arms  .   .   . 

the  female  ivy  so 
Enrings  the  barky  fingers  of  the  elm.1 

1  Act  IV,  Scene  I. 


258      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

and  in  "The  Tempest,"   when  Pros  per  o  compares 
his  false  brother  with  the  ivy : 

The  ivy,  which  had  hid  my  princely  trunk, 
And  suck'd  my  verdure  out  on  't.1 

In  the  old  carols  and  plays  Ivy  is  always  repre- 
sented as  a  woman,  and  yet,  although  beloved,  was 
used  for  the  outside  decorations  and  doorways.  Ivy 
never  had  the  place  within  that  holly  occupied. 

As  ivy  clings  and  embraces  the  object  near  it,  the 
plant  was  chosen  as  an  emblem  of  confiding  love 
and  friendship.  Tusser's  commands  are  as  follows : 
"Get  Ivy  and  Holly,  women,  deck  up  thy  house." 
Ivy  was  also  used  in  the  church  decorations  at  Chris- 
mas-tide.  In  the  Middle  Ages  ivy  was  a  favored  and 
most  auspicious  plant.  An  old  carol  says: 

Ivy  is  soft  and  meke  of  speech, 

Against  all  bale   she  is  bliss, 
Well  is  he  that  her  may  reach: — 

Veni,  coronaberis. 

Ivy  is  green  with  color  bright, 

Of  all  trees  best  she  is, 
And  that  I  prove  will  now  be  right: — 

Feni,  coronaberis. 

Ivy  beareth  berries  black, 

God  grant  us  all  His  bliss, 
For  there  we  shall  nothing  lack: — ; 

Veni,  coronaberis. 
*  Act  I,  Scene  II. 


"ICICLES  HANG  BY  THE  WALL"   259 

Ivy  was  the  crown  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  poets, 
whose  myths  proclaimed  the  plant  sacred  to  Bacchus. 
Indeed  the  plant  took  its  name  from  Bacchus 
(kissos)  for  it  was  said  that  the  child  was  hidden 
under  ivy  when  abandoned  by  his  mother,  Semele. 
The  ivy  was  mingled  with  the  grape  in  the  crown  of 
Bacchus  and  it  enwreathed  his  thyrsus.  Ivy  berries 
eaten  before  wine  was  swallowed  prevented  intoxi- 
cation, so  Pliny  says.  Perhaps  because  of  its  asso- 
ciation with  Bacchus  ivy  was  hung  at  the  vintners' 
doors  in  England  as  well  as  on  the  Continent,  and  a 
reference  to  this  custom  is  contained  in  Nash's 
"Summer's  Last  Will  and  Testament"  (1600). 

In  Shakespeare's  time  ivy  was  considered  a 
remedy  against  plague,  which  gave  another  reason 
for  veneration. 

England  would  almost  cease  to  be  England  with- 
out the  ivy  that  so  luxuriantly  covers  the  walls  of 
old  buildings  and  adds  its  soft  beauty  to  the  crumb- 
ling ruins.  Everybody  loves  it — strangers  as  well 
as  natives;  and  every  one  loves  the  poem  that 
Dickens  inserted  into  "The  Pickwick  Papers" : 

Oh,  a  dainty  plant  is  the  Ivy  green, 

That  creepeth  o'er  ruins  old! 
On  right  choice  food  are  his  meals,  I  ween, 

In  his  cell  so  lone  and  cold. 


260      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

The  wall  must  be  crumbled,  the  stone  decay'd 

To  pleasure  his  dainty  whim ; 
And  the  mouldering  dust  that  years  have  made, 
•Is  a  merry  meal  for  him. 

Creeping  where  no  life  is  seen, 
A  rare  old  plant  is  the  Ivy  green ! 

First,  he  stealeth  on,  though  he  wears  no  wings, 

And  a  staunch  old  heart  has  he ; 
How  closely  he  turneth,  how  close  he  clings, 

To  his  friend,  the  huge  oak  tree ! 
And  slily  he  traileth  along  the  ground, 

And  his  leaves  he  gently  waves, 
As  he  joyously  hugs  and  crawleth  round 

The  rich  mould  of  men's  graves. 

Creeping  where  grim  Death  hath  been, 
A  rare  old  plant  is  the  Ivy  green ! 

Whole  ages  have  fled  and  their  works  decayed, 

And  nations  have  scattered  been ; 
But  the  stout  old  ivy  shall  never  fade 

From  its  hale  and  hearty  green. 
The  brave  old  plant  in  its  lonely  days 

Shall  fatten  on  the  past, 
For  the  stateliest  building  man  can  raise 

Is  the  ivy's  food  at  last. 

Creeping  on  where  Time  has  been 
A  rare  old  plant  is  the  Ivy  green ! 


"ICICLES  HANG  BY  THE  WALL"  261 

II 

Mistletoe  and  Box 

THE  MISTLETOE  (Vis cum  album).  The  mis- 
tletoe, the  "all-healer,"  is  a  mysterious  and  mystical 
plant.  The  Greeks  venerated  it.  Virgil  gave  it  to 
JSneas  for  the  "Golden  Bough/'  to  guide  him  to 
the  Underworld.  The  Scandinavians  dedicated  it  to 
their  goddess  of  love,  Freya  (or  Freyja).  The  mis- 
tletoe is,  however,  more  closely  associated  with  the 
Druids  than  with  any  other  race.  The  plant  was  so 
sacred  to  these  strange  people  that  it  was  never 
allowed  to  touch  the  ground.  At  the  New  Year 
the  Druids  marched  in  solemn  procession  into  the 
forest,  and  the  high  priest  climbed  the  oak-tree  and, 
with  a  golden  sickle,  cut  the  mistletoe  from  the 
branches.  Other  priests  stood  below  holding  a  white 
cloth  to  receive  the  mistletoe  as  it  fell.  The  sacred 
plant  was  dipped  into  water  and  then  distributed 
among  the  people,  to  whom  it  was  supposed  to  bring 
good  luck  of  all  kinds. 

Even  to-day  we  do  not  like  the  "Mistletoe  Bough" 
to  fall.  We  say  it  is  "unlucky";  but  possibly  we 
have  unconsciously  inherited  from  our  remote  an- 
cestors a  spark  of  reverence  for  the  "Golden  Bough." 


262       THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

The  Welsh  thought  the  mistletoe  "pure  gold," 
believing  that  it  had  a  connection  with  the  golden 
fire  of  the  sun;  and  they  thought  also  that  the  mistle- 
toe absorbed  the  life  of  the  oak-tree  to  which  it 
clung. 

The  Church  never  sanctioned  the  mistletoe.  It 
never  appears,  therefore,  among  the  Christmas  deco- 
rations in  the  churches.  No  edicts,  however,  were 
strong  enough  to  banish  it  from  the  decorations  of 
the  house,  and  the  mistletoe  bough  is  always  a  fea- 
ture in  the  home  where  Christmas  is  celebrated  with 
picturesque  traditions.  The  precise  reason  for  hang- 
ing up  the  Mistletoe  Bough  is  lost  in  antiquity;  but 
it  is  possible  that  the  particular  reasons  were  because 
it  has  supposed  miraculous  powers  of  healing  sick- 
ness and  averting  misfortune,  and  great  potency  in 
promoting  fertility  and  bestowing  prosperity.  For 
hundreds  of  years  the  mistletoe  has  been  reverenced 
alike  in  castle,  baronial  hall,  manor  house  and  farm- 
house in  Shakespeare's  country  and  in  the  homes  of 
rich  and  poor  in  our  own  country. 

Undoubtedly  the  idea  of  kissing  under  the  Mistle- 
toe Bough  was  derived  from  the  fact  that  the  plant 
was  dedicated  to  the  Northern  goddess  of  love.  The 
old  saying  is  that  the  maiden  who  is  not  kissed  under 
the  mistletoe  will  not  be  married  within  the  coming 


"ICICLES  HANG  BY  THE  WALL"   263 

year.  The  ceremony  of  kissing  is  not  properly  per- 
formed unless  a  berry  is  plucked  off  and  given  with 
each  kiss  to  the  maiden.  When  the  berries  are  all 
gone  the  privilege  of  kissing  ceases. 

That  mistletoe  grows  on  the  oak-tree  solely  is  a 
popular  error.  In  fact,  the  plant  prefers  the  apple. 
Most  of  the  English  mistletoe  now  comes  from  the 
apple  orchards  of  Herefordshire.  Normandy  sends 
a  great  deal  of  mistletoe  to  England  and  to  our 
country.  The  strange  parasite  is  also  found  on  the 
linden,  poplar,  and  white-thorn.  When  once  the 
seed  is  lodged,  it  drives  its  roots  deep  into  the  branch 
and  draws  sap  and  nourishment  from  the  tree.  The 
European  variety  is  known  as  Viscum  album  and  is 
much  forked.  In  the  United  States  the  ordinary 
mistletoe  is  known  as  Phoradendron  and  grows  on 
various  hardwood  trees  in  many  of  the  Southern 
States. 

There  is  something  curiously  interesting  about 
the  mistletoe.  It  is  not  beautiful,  the  leaves  are 
irregular  and  often  stained  and  broken,  the  berries 
fall  almost  when  looked  at  and  the  plant  is  stiff  and 
woody;  yet  for  all  that  there  is  a  peculiar  quality 
in  the  greenish  white  and  waxy  berries  and  the  shape 
of  the  forked  twig  that  makes  us  think  of  divining- 
rods  and  magical  words.  It  has  a  mystic  fascination 


264      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

for  us.    Shakespeare's  only  reference  speaks  of  it  as 
baleful:  Tamora  says  in  "Titus  Andronicus" :  * 

The  trees,  through  summer,  yet  forlorn  and  lean, 
O'ercome  with  moss  and  baleful  mistletoe. 

BOX  (Buxus  sempervirens) .  Shakespeare  men- 
tions the  box  once — when  Sir  Toby  Belch  and  Sir 
Andrew  Aguecheek  and  the  Clown  are  in  Olivia's 
garden  and  Maria,  running  out  to  tell  them  that 
Malvolio  is  coming,  excitedly  cries : 

Get  ye  all  three  into  the  box-tree.2 

Every  one  knows  how  important  a  feature  the 
box-bush  is  in  English  gardens  and  in  the  old  Ameri- 
can gardens  that  were  planted  after  English  models. 

So  fine  in  color,  so  deep  and  luxuriant  in  foliage, 
so  dignified  and  aristocratic  in  its  atmosphere  the 
name  box  is  almost  synonymous  with  old  gardens. 
Its  acrid  yet  aromatic  scent — most  delicious  after 
rain — is  one  of  its  characteristics. 

Greek  myth  consecrated  the  box  to  Pluto,  and 
the  plant  was  said  to  be  symbolical  of  the  life  in 
the  Underworld  which  continues  all  the  year.  The 
ancients  used  it  to  border  their  flower-beds,  and 
probably  the  great  use  of  box  in  England  comes  from 

1  Act  II,  Scene  III. 

'"Twelfth  Night";  Act  II,  Scene  V. 


"ICICLES  HANG  BY  THE  WALL"   26? 

the  Roman  times.  The  wood  was  used  for  delicate 
inlay  in  the  days  of  the  Renaissance  and  also  for 
making  musical  instruments. 

Box  is  thought  to  be  the  assur-wood  of  the  Bible. 
There  is  authority  for  using  greenery  in  church  deco- 
ration for  in  Isaiah  we  read:  "The  glory  of 
Lebanon  shall  come  unto  thee ;  the  fir-tree,  the  pine- 
tree,  and  the  box  together  to  beautify  the  place  of 
my  sanctuary;  and  I  will  make  the  places  of  my 
feet  glorious."  * 

To  dream  of  box,  according  to  the  astrologers  of 
Shakespeare's  time,  signified  a  happy  marriage,  long 
life,  and  prosperity. 

Box  was  used  for  decoration  in  the  Tudor  and 
Stuart  days  and  succeeded  the  Christmas  garlands, 
as  Herrick  sings  in  the  time  of  Charles  I,  at  Candle- 
mas (February  2)  : 

Down  with  the  Rosemary  and  Bays, 

Down  with  the  Mistletoe, 
Instead  of  Holly  now  upraise 

The  greener   Box   for   show. 

The  Holly  hitherto  did  sway, 

Let  Box  now  domineer 
Until   the   dancing   Easter   Day 

On  Easter  eve  appear. 

'Chap.  LX,  v.  13. 


266      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

The  youthful  Box  which  now  hath  grace 

Your  houses  to  renew, 
Grown  old,  surrender  must  his  place 

Unto  the  crisped  Yew. 

When  Yew  is  out,  then  Birch  comes  in, 

And  many  flowers  beside, 
Both  of  a  fresh  and  fragrant  kin 

To  honor  Whitsuntide. 

Green  rushes  then  and  sweetest  Bents, 

With  cooler  oaken  boughs 
Come  in  for  comely  ornaments 

To  re-adorn  the  house. 

Thus  a  constant  succession  of  decorative  flowers 
and  evergreens  appeared  in  the  houses  of  Old  Eng- 
land. Every  season  had  its  appropriate  flowers,  each 
and  all  emblematical.  It  was  also  the  same  in  the 
Church.  An  English  writer  remarks : 

"Mindful  of  the  Festivals  which  our  Church  pre- 
scribes, I  have  sought  to  make  these  objects  of  floral 
nature  the  timepieces  of  my  religious  calendar  and 
the  mementos  of  the  hastening  period  of  my  mor- 
tality. Thus,  I  can  light  my  taper  to  our  Virgin 
Mother  in  the  blossoming  of  the  white  Snowdrop, 
which  opens  its  flower  at  the  time  of  Candlemas; 
the  Lady's  Smock  and  Daffodil  remind  me  of  the 
Annunciation;  the  blue  Harebell  of  the  Festival  of 
St.  George;  the  Ranunculus  of  the  Invention  of  the 


"ICICLES  HANG  BY  THE  WALL"    267 

Cross;  the  Scarlet  Lychnis  of  St.  John  the  Baptist's 
day;  the  White  Lily  of  the  Visitation  of  Our  Lady; 
the  Virgin's  Bower  of  the  Assumption;  and  Michael- 
mas, Martinmas,  Holy  Rood  and  Christmas  have  all 
their  appropriate  decorations." 


PART  THREE 
PRACTICAL  SUGGESTIONS 


THE  LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  AND  SMALL 
FORMAL  GARDENS 


The  Stately  Garden 

BEFORE  taking  any  steps  to  make  a  Shake- 
speare garden,  it  is  essential  to  study  the  archi- 
tectural lines  of  the  house  and  the  conforma- 
tion of  the  grounds  on  which  it  is  purposed  to  lay  out 
the  garden,  or  series  of  gardens.  If  the  grounds  are 
undulating,  or  hilly,  naturally  the  gardens  must  be 
arrayed  on  different  levels.  The  gardens  can  rise 
above  the  house  in  terraces  if  the  house  stands  on 
the  side  of  a  hill,  or  beneath  it ;  or  the  gardens  may 
sink  below  the  house,  if  the  building  crowns  the 
summit  of  an  elevation.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the 
house  is  erected  on  a  flat  plain,  the  gardens  can 
open  out  like  a  series  of  rooms  partitioned  off  by 
hedges,  arbors,  or  walls.  An  artistic  eye  and  re- 
sourceful mind  will  prefer  to  take  advantage  of  the 
natural  lines  and  work  out  a  plan  suggested  by  them. 

With  nearly  every  kind  of  house  the  square  garden 

271 


272      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

accords,  either  perfectly  square  or  longer  than  broad. 
Frequently  the  small  enclosed  garden  looks  well  at 
the  side  of  the  house.  It  is  essential  to  call  in  the 
professional  gardener  for  advice  regarding  the  situa- 
tion of  the  garden,  and  questions  of  drainage,  sun- 
shine, and  exposure  to  winds  and  sunshine;  for  all 
these  matters  aid  in  determining  the  arrangement.  If 
a  series  of  gardens  is  planned,  one  leading  from  an- 
other, it  is  well  to  consider  them  as  outside  rooms. 
In  this  case  there  will  be  little  trouble  in  making 
the  lay-out.  The  simplest  plan  is  always  the  most 
effective.  A  very  good  example  to  follow  is  the  lay- 
out of  Montacute,  Somersetshire,  built  in  1580- 
1601: 

"Before  the  house  is  a  walled-in  forecourt,  and 
in  the  forecourt  a  small  lawn  with  a  fountain,  or 
pool,  in  the  center.  An  entrance-gate  leads  into  the 
forecourt.  Before  this  forecourt  comes  a  small  ante- 
court,  designed  for  the  sake  of  dignity.  On  one  side 
of  the  forecourt  is  the  base,  or  bass,  court,  sur- 
rounded by  the  stables,  kitchens,  and  other  build- 
ings; and  on  the  other  side  is  the  ornamental 
pleasure-grounds,  including  'my  lady's  garden,'  a 
survival  of  the  small  enclosed  castle  garden,  of  the 
Middle  Ages. 

"Overlooking  the  garden  is  the  Terrace — twenty 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  273 

or  thirty  feet  wide — of  considerable  length,  and  pro- 
tected by  a  balustrade  of  detached  banisters,  of 
handsome  design  pierced  in  stone.  From  the  Terrace 
wide  flights  of  steps  at  either  end  lead  to  the  broad 
sanded  walks  that  divide  the  parterre  into  several 
subdivisions,  which  are  again  divided  by  narrow 
paths  into  smaller  designs. 

"The  general  shape  is  square,  following  the 
antique  classical  garden  of  Pliny's  time,  enclosed 
with  trellis-work,  espaliers,  clipped  box-hedges, 
statuary,  fountains,  vases,  and  pleached  alleys." 

The  famous  Nonsuch,  near  Ewell,  in  Surrey,  laid 
out  by  Henry  VIII  toward  the  end  of  his  life,  re- 
tained its  appearance  for  more  than  a  hundred  years ; 
for  at  the  time  of  the  Parliamentary  Survey  (1650) 
it  was  thus  described: 

"It  was  cut  out  and  divided  into  several  allies, 
quarters  and  rounds,  set  about  with  thorn  hedges; 
on  the  north  side  is  a  kitchen  garden,  very  commodi- 
ous and  surrounded  with  a  brick  wall  of  fourteen 
feet  high.  On  the  west  is  a  wilderness  severed  from 
the  little  park  by  a  lodge,  the  whole  containing  ten 
acres.  In  the  privy  garden  were  pyramids,  fountains 
and  basins  of  marble,  one  of  which  is  set  round  with 
six  lilack  trees,  which  trees  bear  no  fruit,  but  a  very 
pleasant  flower.  Before  the  Palace  is  a  neat  and 


274      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

handsome  bowling-green  surrounded  with  a  balus- 
trade of  freestone." 

Hampton  Court  Gardens,  so  beautiful  to-day, 
were  very  famous  in  Tudor  times.  The  old  manor 
house  was  at  the  southwest  corner  of  the  area,  and 
around  it  Cardinal  Wolsey  laid  out  his  gardens  and 
orchards.  In  1599  Henry  VIII  seized  the  estate 
and  enlarged  the  gardens.  Ernest  Law  exclaims : 

"What  a  truly  delightful  picture  must  these  gar- 
dens have  formed  with  their  little  walks  and  par- 
terres, sheltered  arbors  and  banquetting-houses.  The 
largest  plot  was  called  the  King's  New  Garden  and 
occupied  the  place  called  the  Privy  Garden.  Here 
were  the  gay  parterres  with  gravel  paths  and  little 
raised  mounds  with  sun-dials  on  them.  Here  was 
also  the  Pond  Garden,  which  is  still  to  be  seen  and 
which,  though  much  altered,  yet  retains  something 
of  its  Tudor  aspect;  and  another,  known  as  the 
Little  Garden,  which  may,  perhaps,  be  identified 
with  the  enclosed  space  at  the  side  of  the  Pond  Gar- 
den. Studded  about  in  various  parts  of  the  gardens 
and  orchards  were  heraldic  beasts  on  pedestals,  hold- 
ing vanes,  or  shields,  bearing  the  King's  Arms  and 
badges;  also  many  brass  sun-dials." 

Another  typical  garden  was  that  of  Kenilworth, 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  275 

known,  of  course,  to  Shakespeare,  as  it  is  in  War- 
wickshire : 

"His  Honor's  the  Earl  of  Leicester's  exquisite 
appointment  of  a  beautiful  garden,  an  acre  or  more 
in  quantity,  that  lieth  on  the  north.  Whereon  all 
along  the  Castle  wall  is  reared  a  pleasant  terrace, 
ten  feet  high  and  twelve  feet  broad,  even  under  foot 
and  fresh  of  fine  grass,  as  is  also  the  side,  thereof, 
towards  the  garden,  in  which,  by  sundry  equal  dis- 
tances with  obelisks  and  spheres  and  white  bears 
all  of  stone  upon  their  curious  bases  by  goodly  shew, 
were  set.  To  these,  two  fine  arbors,  redolent  by 
sweet  trees  and  flowers,  at  each  end,  one ;  the  garden- 
plot  under  that,  with  fair  alleys,  green  by  grass,  even 
voided  from  the  borders  on  both  sides,  and  some 
(for  change)  with  sand,  smooth  and  firm,  pleasant 
to  walk  on,  as  a  sea-shore  when  the  water  is  avoided. 
Then  much  gracified  by  due  proportion  of  four  even 
quarters,  in  the  midst  of  each  upon  a  base  of  two 
feet  square  and  high,  seemingly  bordered  of  itself,  a 
square  pilaster  rising  pyramidically  fifteen  feet 
high." 

Thus  Robert  Laneham  wrote  in  a  letter  describ- 
ing the  pageant  at  Kenil worth  in  1575. 

The  garden  of  varying  ascents  and  descents  was 


276      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

much  admired  in  Elizabethan  days.  Sir  Henry 
Wotton  (1568-1630),  a  most  sensitive  critic,  who 
wrote  so  beautifully  of  flowers,  describes  in  his  "Ele- 
ments of  Architecture"  a  garden  laid  out  on  different 
levels : 

"I  have  seen  a  garden  for  the  manner  perchance 
incomparable  into  which  the  first  access  was  a  high 
walk  like  a  terrace,  from  whence  might  be  taken  a 
general  view  of  the  whole  Plot  below.  From  this, 
the  Beholder,  descending  many  steps,  was  after- 
wards conveyed  again  by  several  mountings  and 
fallings  to  various  entertainments  of  his  scent  and 
sight.  Every  one  of  these  diversities  was  as  if  he 
had  been  magically  transported  into  a  new  garden." 

The  above  extracts  will  afford  suggestions  for  the 
lay-out  of  fine  stately  gardens.  The  most  typical 
Elizabethan  estates  are  Montacute,  Somersetshire; 
Longleat,  Wiltshire;  Hatfield,  Hardwicke,  Kirby, 
Penshurst,  Kent;  and  Drayton  House,  Northamp- 
tonshire. All  of  these  are  models  for  imitation  in 
our  own  country. 

II 

The  Small  Garden 

Turning  now  to  the  small  enclosed  garden,  first 
select  your  ground,  your  design,  and  your  flowers 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  277 

for  borders,  edging,  and  knots,  so  that  you  will  know 
the  effect  you  wish  to  produce. 

"Making  a  garden,"  says  H.  H.  Thomas,  "may 
be  likened  to  painting  a  picture.  Just  as  the  artist 
has  before  him  the  landscape  which  he  is  to  depict 
on  the  canvas,  the  gardener  should  have  in  his  mind's 
eye  a  strong  impression  of  the  kind  of  garden  he 
wishes  to  make.  There  is  nothing  like  being 
methodical  even  in  gardening,  so  it  is  best  to  ma- 
terialize one's  ideas  in  the  form  of  a  rough  sketch, 
or  plan." 

Show  your  gardener  the  diagram  and  have  him 
stake  off  your  garden  and  beds  with  the  greatest 
accuracy.  Your  walks,  paths,  and  beds  must  be 
exact.  Next  select  your  style  of  enclosure  and 
build  your  brick  wall,  plant  your  green  hedge,  or 
construct  your  pleached  alley.  Each  one  has  its 
own  particular  advantages  and  charm.  The  brick 
wall  forms  a  shelter  for  plants  that  love  shade  and 
a  fine  support  for  climbing  plants,  especially  ivy. 
The  hedge  makes  a  rich  and  distinguished  wall  of 
living  green,  which  can  be  artistically  clipped;  and 
arches  can  be  made  through  it.  The  pleached  alley, 
formed  of  wooden  trellis,  lattice-work,  or  rustic,  or 
wire  arches  painted  an  attractive  color,  or  left  in 
the  natural  wood,  will,  if  they  are  covered  profusely 


278      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

with  roses,  honeysuckle,  rosemary,  and  other  roving 
flowers,  give  the  effect  of  the  old  leafy  tunnels  of 
greenery  and  blossoms. 

Ill 

Soil  and  Seed 

Every  gardener  of  olden  times,  as  well  as  every 
practical  worker  to-day,  insists  upon  the  necessity 
of  digging  and  trenching  and  preparing  the  soil  be- 
fore any  seeds  are  sown,  or  cuttings  planted.  For 
this  important  preparation,  the  advice  of  the  best 
local  gardener  is  imperative. 

Regarding  seeds  it  is  interesting  to  seek  advice 
from  Didymus  Mountain's  "The  Gardener's 
Labyrinth."  "Every  gardener  and  owner,"  he  says, 
"ought  to  be  careful  and  diligently  to  foresee  that 
the  seeds  committed  to  the  earth  be  neither  too  old, 
dry,  thin,  withered,  nor  counterfeited,  but  rather 
full,  new  and  full  of  juice. 

"After  the  seeds  being  workmanly  bestowed  in 
the  beds,  the  gardener's  next  care  must  be  that  he 
diligently  pull  up  and  weed  away  all  hurtful  and 
unprofitable  herbs  annoying  the  garden  plants 
coming  up." 

All  very  sound  advice,  quaintly  expressed.  Old 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  279 

Didymus  is  even  quainter  as  he  tells  of  the  astro- 
logical influences: 

"The  daily  experience  is  to  the  gardener  as  a 
schoolmaster  to  instruct  him  how  much  it  availeth 
and  hindereth  that  seeds  to  be  sown,  plants  to  be 
set,  yea,  scions  to  be  grafted  (in  this  or  that  time), 
having  herein  regard,  not  to  the  time  especially  of 
the  year,  as  the  Sun  altereth  the  same,  but  also  to 
the  Moon's  increase  and  wane,  yea,  to  the  sign  she 
occupieth,  and  places  both  about  and  under  the 
earth.  To  the  aspects  also  of  the  other  planets, 
whose  beams  and  influence  both  quicken,  comfort, 
preserve  and  maintain,  or  else  nip,  wither,  dry,  con- 
sume, and  destroy  by  sundry  means  the  tender  seeds, 
plants,  yea,  and  grafts;  and  these  after  their  prop- 
erty and  virtue  natural  or  accidental." 

Then  he  goes  on  to  say: 

"To  utter  here  the  popular  help  against  thunder, 
lightnings  and  the  dangerous  hail,  when  the  tempest 
approacheth  through  the  cloud  arising,  as  by  the 
loud  noise  of  guns  shot  here  and  there,  with  a  loud 
sound  of  bells  and  such  like  noises  which  may  hap- 
pen, I  think  the  same  not  necessary,  nor  properly 
available  to  the  benefit  of  the  garden. 

"The  famous  learned  man,  Archibus,  which  wrote 
unto  Antiochus,  King  of  Syria,  affirmeth  that 


280      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

tempests  shall  not  be  harmful  to  plants,  or  fruit,  if 
the  speckled  toad,  enclosed  in  a  new  earthern  pot, 
be  buried  in  the  middle  of  the  garden." 

A  modern  authority  says : 

"While  no  hard  and  fast  rule  can  be  made,  a  gen- 
eral practice  is  to  cover  seeds  with  double  their  own 
depth  of  soil  under  glass  and  four  times  their  own 
depth  of  soil  when  sowing  in  the  open  ground.  To 
protect  seeds  from  cats,  bury  several  bottles  up  to 
the  neck  in  seed  bed  and  put  in  each  bottle  a  tea- 
spoonful  of  liquid  ammonia." 

IV 

The  Gateway 

The  gate  entrance  was  always  important  in  Tudor 
times.  The  gate,  usually  of  pierced  ironwork,  but 
also  of  wood  artistically  cut  into  balusters,  was  hung 
between  two  square  piers  of  brick  or  stone,  about 
ten  feet  apart.  Each  pier  was  surmounted  by  a  stone 
ball,  with  or  without  necking,  unless  heraldic  lions, 
bears,  wyverns,  or  other  emblems  of  the  owner  were 
used.  The  piers  were,  as  a  rule,  two  feet  square 
and  nine,  or  ten,  feet  to  the  top  of  the  cornice.  Gate- 
ways were  also  set  in  walls,  and  little  gates  were  set 
in  hedges,  or  flanked  by  ornamental  shrubs. 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  281 


The  Garden-House 

The  garden-house  was  very  important  in  Shake- 
speare's time.  It  was  often  a  substantial  edifice, 
built  of  brick  or  stone,  placed  at  the  corner  of  a 
boundary,  or  dividing  wall,  so  as  to  afford  a  view 
of  more  than  one  part  of  the  garden.  Sometimes 
two  buildings  were  constructed,  one  at  each  corner, 
as  at  Montacute.  Another  favorite  position  was 
at  the  end  of  a  long  walk  ending  in  a  vista;  and 
another  was  overlooking  the  bowling-alley,  from 
which  visitors  could  watch  the  game.  The  garden- 
house  was  often  fitted  with  handsome  woodwork 
and  even  a  fireplace.  An  outside  staircase  some- 
times led  to  the  roof. 

The  summer-house  arbor  was  also  often  made  of 
wooden  lattice-work  and  covered  with  vines.  Some- 
times it  was  hollowed  out  of  the  clipped  hedge,  or 
out  of  a  large  tree  properly  shaped  by  the  toparian 
artist.  The  gazebo,  built  at  the  corner  of  a  wall 
overlooking  the  garden  within  and  the  road  with- 
out, was  also  a  popular  kind  of  summer-house.  The 
origin  of  the  name  is  still  obscure.  Some  people  say 
it  comes  from  the  same  root  as  to  gaze,  and  refers 


282      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

to  viewing  the  scenery;  but  there  is  a  suggestion  of 
the  Orient  in  the  word.  The  gazebo  may  best  be 
described  as  a  kind  of  wall  pavilion. 

VI 

The  Mount 

The  mount,  originally  intended  to  enable  persons 
to  look  over  the  enclosing  wall,  served  both  as  a 
place  to  enjoy  the  view  and  as  a  post  of  outlook  in 
time  of  danger.  Mounts  were  constructed  of  wood 
or  stone,  curiously  adorned  within  and  without. 
They  were  also  made  in  the  old  barrow  shape  of 
earth  and  covered  with  grass.  The  top  of  the 
mount  was  often  adorned  with  a  summer-house,  or 
arbor.  The  mount  at  Hampton  Court,  constructed 
in  1533  on  a  brick  foundation,  was  the  first  speci- 
men of  its  day;  and  the  arbor  upon  it  was  a  very 
elaborate  affair,  made  of  wooden  pales  and  trellis- 
work.  Sometimes  the  mount,  instead  of  being  a 
raised  and  detached  mound,  was  formed  like  a  long 
bank  raised  against  an  outer  wall. 

VII 

Rustic  Arches 

"Rustic  arches  should  be  in  keeping  with  the 
house  and  grounds.  Firstly  they  should  be  in  keep- 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  283 

ing  with  the  style  of  the  house  and  grounds.  A 
white  stone  house  with  a  light  pillared  verandah  is 
not  suited  by  rustic  arches:  it  requires  to  be  seen 
through  vistas  made  up  of  arches  as  slender  as  the 
verandah  pillars,  of  painted  iron-work  preferably, 
and  the  most  telling  contrast  will  be  arranged  if 
there  are  numerous  deep  evergreen  shrubs. 

"Rustic,  or  peeled  oak,  arches  suit  the  modern 
red  brick  villa  style  of  house  to  perfection;  the 
trellis  arch,  being  neat  and  unpretentious,  is  also  in 
excellent  taste.  The  old-fashioned  country  cottage, 
or  the  house  built  to  imitate  it,  should  not  have 
trellis-work  within  half  a  mile.  Rustic  .arches,  or  in- 
visible ones  of  bent  iron,  are  alone  in  keeping.  By 
an  invisible  arch,  I  mean  one  consisting  of  a  single 
bend  of  iron,  or  narrow  woodwork  upright  with  a 
cross  bar — anything  really  that  is  intended  only  to 
support  some  evergreen  climber  or  close  grower,  such 
as  a  rose  that  will  hide  the  foundation  at  all  seasons. 

"Arches  simply  built  of  rustic  poles  are  more 
pleasing  than  wire  or  lattice  ones  in  any  landscape; 
and  the  roughness  of  the  wood  is  beneficial  to  the 
climbers  that  grow  over  them,  affording  an  easy 
hold  for  tendrils.  Whether  the  wood  is  peeled,  or 
employed  with  the  bark  on — the  latter  is  the  more 
artistic  method — it  is  an  admirable  plan  to  wash  it 


284      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

all  over  with  a  strong  solution  of  some  insecticide 
and  then  give  one  or  two  coats  of  varnish.  In  most 
cases  varnish  alone  is  enough  to  preserve  the  wood. 
"The  use  of  rustic  wood  in  a  garden  is  always 
safe  since  its  appearance  cannot  conflict  with  Nature 
as  painted  woodwork  when  present  in  excess  is  sure 
to  do.  From  woodcutter's  yards,  especially  those 
in  the  heart  of  the  country,  charming  pieces  of  log 
of  any  size  can  be  bought  very  cheaply  and  when- 
ever a  tree  on  an  estate  has  to  be  felled  portions  of 
its  trunks  or  branches  can  be  turned  to  good  account 
in  the  garden."  * 

VIII 

Seats 

Garden  seats  are  of  so  many  kinds  and  styles  that 
one  has  much  latitude  in  selection.  Rustic  seats, 
painted  iron  seats,  and  marble  seats  are  all  proper; 
but  should  be  selected  to  harmonize  with  the  house 
and  general  style  of  the  garden  or  gardens. 

IX 

Vases,  Jars,  and    Tubs 

Marble  vases,  old  pottery  jars  of  simple  type, 
and  wooden  tubs  can  be  selected  for  individual 

aH.  H.  Thomas. 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  28? 

plants  to  grow  in,  or  for  fine  arrangements  of  ferns 
and  other  flowers.  Placed  at  regular  intervals  in 
the  garden,  or  on  the  terrace,  these  simple  ornaments 
add  brightness  and  elegance  to  the  scene. 


Fountains 

In  Elizabethan  gardens  the  fountain  was  a  fa- 
miliar feature,  and  fountains  were  very  elaborate 
with  regard  to  their  construction. 

Bacon  says: 

"For  fountains  they  are  a  great  beauty  and  re- 
freshment: the  one  that  sprinkleth  or  spouteth 
water;  the  other,  a  fair  receipt  of  water  of  some 
thirty  or  forty  foot.  For  the  first,  the  ornaments  of 
images  gilt,  or  marble,  which  are  in  use,  do  well. 
Also  some  steps  up  to  it  and  some  fine  pavement 
about  doth  well.  As  for  the  other  kind  of  fountain, 
which  may  be  called  a  bathing-pool,  it  may  admit 
much  curiosity  and  beauty,  as  that  the  bottom  be 
finely  paved,  and  with  images ;  the  sides  likewise  and 
withal  embellished  with  colored  glass  and  such 
things  of  luster  encompassed  also  with  fine  rails  of 
low  statues." 

Hentzner  saw  three  famous  fountains  on  his  visit 


286      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

to  England  in  1592,  at  Hampton  Court,  Whitehall, 
and  Nonsuch.  He  describes  the  one  at  Hampton 
Court  as  follows: 

"In  the  middle  of  the  first  and  principal  court 
stands  a  fountain,  splendid,  high,  and  massy,  with 
an  ingenious  water-work,  by  which  you  can,  if  you 
like,  make  the  water  to  play  upon  the  ladies  and 
others  who  are  standing  by  and  give  them  a  thor- 
ough wetting." 

The  one  at  Whitehall  was  also  capable  of  playing 
practical  jokes: 

"A  jet  (Teau  with  a  sun-dial,  which,  while  stran- 
gers are  looking  at  it,  a  quantity  of  water  forced  by  a 
wheel,  which  the  gardener  turns  at  a  distance 
through  a  number  of  little  pipes,  plentifully 
sprinkles  those  who  are  standing  round." 

More  ornate  was  the  fountain  at  the  superb  palace 
of  Nonsuch  in  Surrey: 

"In  the  pleasure  and  artificial  gardens  are  many 
columns  and  pyramids  of  marble,  two  fountains  that 
spout  water,  one  round  the  other  like  a  pyramid 
upon  which  are  perched  small  birds  that  stream 
water  out  of  their  bills.  In  the  Grove  of  Diana  is  a 
very  agreeable  fountain  with  Action  turned  into 
a  stag,  as  he  was  sprinkled  by  the  goddess  and  her 
nymphs  with  inscriptions.  There  is  besides  another 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  287 

pyramid  of  marble  full  of  concealed  pipes  which 
spirt  upon  all  who  come  within  their  reach." 

In  the  small  formal  garden  a  fountain  looks  well 
at  the  intersection  of  the  paths  in  the  center  of  the 
quarters.  It  is  not  necessary  to  have  an  ornate  foun- 
tain, for  the  real  charm  of  a  fountain  consists  in  the 
upward  plume  of  spray  that  glistens  in  the  sunshine, 
that  turns  to  pearls  in  the  moonlight,  and  that  al- 
ways charms  the  eye  of  man  and  delights  the  neigh- 
boring flowers  with  its  spray  blown  by  the  breeze. 

XI 

The  Dove-cote 

Every  manor-house  had  its  dove-cote,  or  colum- 
bary,  as  it  was  called.  Here  doves  and  pigeons  aided 
in  making  a  very  pretty  picture  as  they  flew  in  and 
out  of  the  architecturally  designed  bird-house.  The 
right  to  keep  them  was  confined  to  the  lords  of  the 
manor,  and  the  law  was  very  strictly  enforced. 

Andrew  Borde  tells  us  that  a  dove-house  is  a 
necessary  thing  about  a  mansion-place.  It  is,  there- 
fore, quite  proper  to  include  a  bird-house  in  the 
Shakespeare  garden;  and  a  pool  for  the  birds'  com- 
fort is  also  a  pretty  as  well  as  necessary  adjunct  to 
the  dove-cote. 


288      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

Birds  add  much  to  the  pleasure  of  the  garden. 
Pigeons  and  doves  give  a  poetic  touch  as  they  strut 
along  the  paths  and  flutter  about.  Nothing  gives 
more  quality  and  elegance,  however,  than  a  peacock, 
and,  to  quote  from  a  contemporary  writer: 

"The  peacock  is  a  bird  of  more  beautiful  feathers 
than  any  other  that  is.  He  is  quickly  angry,  but  he 
is  goodly  to  behold,  very  good  to  eat,  and  serveth  as 
a  watch  in  the  inner  court,  for  that  he,  spying 
strangers  to  come  into  the  lodging,  he  f  aileth  not  to 
cry  out  and  advertise  them  of  the  house." 

The  peacock  is  as  much  of  a  joy  to  the  garden 
lover  as  the  sun-dial. 

XII 

The  Sun-dial 

The  sun-dial  forms  a  perfect  ornament  at  the 
intersection  of  the  garden  paths.  Every  one  re- 
sponds to  the  quaint  beauty  and  mystery  of  the  sun- 
dial with  its  dark  shadow  that  creeps  quietly  across 
the  dial  and  tells  the  hours  so  softly.  As  Charles 
Lamb  says:  "It  is  the  measure  appropriate  for  sweet 
plants  and  flowers  to  spring  by  and  birds  to  appor- 
tion their  silver  warblings  by."  Nothing  has  a  more 
antique  air  than  the  sun-dial.  The  simple  baluster 


FOUNTAINS,    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  289 

pillar  is  a  good  model,  and  the  base  should  be  sur- 
rounded by  a  circle  of  grass. 

This  grassy  ring  is  the  "wabe,"  where  Lewis  Car- 
roll's "slithy  toves"  did  "gyre  and  gimbel"  in  the 
immortal  poem  "Jabberwocky." 

The  sun-dial  can  also  be  placed  at  the  end  of  a 
path,  if  the  path  is  important  enough  to  warrant  it. 

In  our  Shakespeare  garden  I  suggest  using  a 
Shakespearian  quotation  for  the  inscription,  such  as, 
for  example : 

For  never-resting  Time  leads  summer  on. 

or 
Nothing  'gainst  Time's  scythe  can  make  defense. 

or 

Like  as  the  waves  make  towards  the  pebbled  shore, 
So  do  our  minutes  hasten  to  their  end. 

or 

Come  what,  come  may, 
Time  and  the  hour  runs  through  the  roughest  day. 

XIII 

The  Terrace 

The  terrace  is  essential,  if  one  would  have  the 
true  Elizabethan  atmosphere.  The  terrace  can  be 
of  stone,  or  brick,  or  brick  combined  with  stone,  or 
brick  combined  with  wood.  Whatever  the  material, 


2QO      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

the  balustrade  is  of  the  greatest  importance.  The 
designs  for  balusters  in  the  old  architectural  books 
are  legion,  some  of  them  of  very  complicated  inter- 
twining after  the  patterns  of  arabesques  and  cuirs 
(strap-leather  work),  but  good  taste,  even  in  that 
day  of  complicated  design,  demanded  that  the  balus- 
ters should  be  very  widely  spaced.  This  is  obvious, 
because  half  of  the  effect,  at  least,  of  out-of-door 
architecture  depends  upon  the  open  spaces  for  light 
to  play  its  part — and  a  great  part,  too — in  the 
design.  In  balustrades  the  spacing  is,  therefore, 
very  important.  The  balusters  should  never  be  too 
crowded.  The  most  satisfactory  ones  are  those  in 
which  the  distance  from  center  to  center  almost 
equals  the  height  from  plinth  to  coping.  The  piers 
dividing  the  groups  should  not  be  too  far  apart — ten 
to  fifteen  feet  is  a  good  distance.  Much,  however, 
depends  on  the  proportion  of  the  balusters  them- 
selves. Frequently  the  balustrade  is  adorned  with 
ornamental  vases,  or  urns,  set  at  regular  intervals 
on  the  rail  and  on  the  newel-posts  of  the  steps.  As 
a  rule,  the  steps  lead  from  both  ends  of  the  terrace. 
Sometimes  there  are  also  steps  in  the  center;  some- 
times the  terrace  is  double.  A  jar,  vase,  or  tub  of 
growing  plants,  or  containing  one  handsome  plant, 
looks  well  placed  on  the  lawn  on  either  side  of  the 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  291 

steps.  Vines  can  be  trained  gracefully  along  the 
balustrade,  hand-rails,  and  posts  of  the  steps.  A 
rich  border  of  flowers  should  be  grown  all  along  the 
side  of  the  terrace:  in  the  spring  hosts  of  daffodils 
and  in  the  summer  larkspur,  marigolds,  lilies,  iris, 
and  climbing  roses  and  honeysuckle.  The  terrace 
gains  in  style  and  beauty  when  the  proper  floral 
decorations  are  tastefully  selected  and  well  com- 
bined. 

From  the  terrace  one  can  enjoy  a  fine  view  of  the 
garden  as  a  whole;  and  it  is  a  pleasant  place  to 
stroll  upon  and  to  sit.  Sometimes  the  terrace  is 
of  two  levels  with  several  stairways. 

Leaving  the  architectural  terrace,  which  is  an 
adjunct  of  the  house  bringing  the  house  into  relation 
with  the  garden,  we  must  turn  to  the  garden  terrace 
made  of  grass,  and  ascended  by  grass  steps  cut  in 
the  bank,  or  by  stone  or  brick  steps  cut  in  the  bank, 
or  standing  outside  with  handrails  and  newel-posts. 
If  the  steps  are  of  grass,  good  effects  can  be  made 
by  placing  large  jars,  or  tubs,  filled  with  flowers, 
ferns,  or  a  single  plant,  such  as  the  pomegranate, 
for  instance,  on  either  side. 

The  grass-terrace  is  very  charming  leading  up  to 
the  garden,  leading  from  one  garden  to  another,  or 
leading  from  the  lawn  proper  to  the  sunken  garden. 


292      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

A  very  attractive  arrangement  was  at  Penshurst, 
Kent,  the  home  of  the  Sidney  family.  It  is  described 
thus:  "Garden  on  south  and  west,  ground  sloping 
to  south  and  west,  house  on  a  grass  platform,  about 
nine  feet  above  the  garden  level.  Along  the  south- 
west side  of  the  flower-garden  a  broad  grass-terrace, 
and  near  the  house  a  few  steps  lead  to  the  yew  alley, 
at  the  end  of  which  is  a  quaint  old  sun-dial  known 
as  the  Turk's  Head." 

The  yew  alley  was  evidently  a  pleached  alley. 

XIV 

The  Pleached  Alley 

The  "Pleached  Alley,"  another  typical  feature  of 
the  Elizabethan  garden  (from  the  French  pies  sir, 
to  weave),  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  thickly 
covered  walk.  In  Shakespeare's  time  this  was  con- 
structed of  woven  boughs  and  climbing  vines  and 
flowers,  or  a  series  of  arbors.  The  old  prints  and 
pictures  show  them  to  be  complete  tunnels  of 
greenery.  We  can  make  a  pleached  alley  to-day  by 
setting  up  a  pergola  and  smothering  it  with  flowers 
and  vines.  Ironwork  arches  covered  with  roses, 
honeysuckle,  and  other  creepers  will  produce  the 
proper  effect.  A  latticework  trellis  covered  with 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  293 

vines  and  flowers  will,  if  properly  constructed,  pro- 
duce the  appearance  of  a  pleached  alley. 

When  the  pleached  alley  is  not  used  to  enclose 
the  garden,  then  a  brick  wall  or,  still  better,  a  fine 
hedge  should  be  planted. 

XV 

Hedges 

Box  makes  a  perfect  hedge.  The  hedge  must  be 
clipped  at  the  upper  part  narrower  than  at  the  base, 
otherwise  the  base  will  become  bare.  Privet  makes 
an  excellent  hedge  and  so  does  the  Osage  orange, 
which  grows  luxuriantly  in  some  parts  of  the  United 
States.  It  is  decorative  to  trim  the  hedge  so  that  tall 
pyramids  ornament  either  side  of  the  gate,  or  an 
arch  can  be  made  to  grow  over  the  gate.  A  small 
lavender  hedge  is  very  attractive.  Each  autumn, 
after  the  flower-spikes  have  gone,  trim  plants  for  the 
dwarf  hedge. 

Roses,  particularly  the  sweetbrier,  make  a  charm- 
ing hedge.  Honeysuckle  is  another  delightful  flower 
for  a  hedge;  and  nothing  could  be  more  beautiful 
than  the  two  combined. 

If  the  rose  and  honeysuckle  hedge  is  desired,  have 
the  carpenter  make  a  lattice  screen  of  the  desired 


294      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

height,  or  simply  construct  a  rustic  fence  and  plant 
the  creepers  near  it  and  train  them  so  that  they  will 
make  a  wall  of  flowers  and  leaves. 

XVI 

Paths 

"There  is  no  pleasanter  path  than  that  of  grass, 
and  even  the  small  garden  ought  to  have  a  little 
grass-walk  between  the  flower  borders  and  rose  beds. 
It  adds  immensely  to  the  attractiveness  of  the  gar- 
den and  none  other  is  so  pleasant  to  the  tread.  Con- 
stant mowing  and  rolling  are  necessary  and  the 
edges  must  be  kept  neat  and  trim ;  for  while  a  well- 
kept  grass-path  is  most  attractive  of  all,  its  charm 
is  never  fully  realized  unless  it  is  carefully  at- 
tended to."  1 

Gravel-paths  must  be  frequently  rolled  and  the 
surface  of  the  walk  made  a  little  higher  in  the  center 
than  the  sides  with  a  curving  outline,  so  that  water 
may  drain  away  to  the  sides. 

The  brick  pathway  is  capable  of  much  variety. 
Bricks  may  be  laid  in  many  patterns;  and  the  little 
garden,  if  very  small,  may  be  entirely  paved  with 
bricks,  leaving  the  formal  flower-beds  only  of  earth. 
A  fountain  or  sun-dial  looks  well  in  the  center. 

aH.  H.Thomas. 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  29$ 

Flagged  pathways  are  effective  in  certain  garden 
arrangements.  Old  paving-stones  are  suitable,  but 
they  should  first  be  broken  up  into  irregular  pieces. 

"Build  a  good  foundation,  cover  it  with  a  thin 
layer  of  sandy  loam,  then  lay  the  larger  pieces  flat 
on  this.  Fill  the  interstices  with  the  fragments,  but 
leave  crevices  filled  with  soil,  two  inches  or  so  wide, 
here  and  there.  Make  up  a  compost  of  equal  parts 
of  loam,  sand  and  leaf -mould,  sweep  this  over  the 
path  and  let  it  settle  in  the  joints.  Many  plants 
can  be  established  in  the  joints  and  a  pretty  effect 
obtained."  l 

Among  the  plants  practical  for  this  purpose  are 
thrift,  thyme,  and  camomile,  and  the  more  they  are 
trodden  on  the  sweeter  they  smell  and  the  better 
they  grow. 

"The  Gardener's  Labyrinth"  gives  three  or  four 
feet  as  the  width  for  paths  between  beds  and  one 
foot  to  one  foot  six  inches  for  the  cross-path. 

XVII 

Borders 

Borders  should  not  be  confused  with  edgings. 
"Border  is  the  name  applied  to  the  narrow  di- 

1 H.  H.  Thomas. 


296       THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

vision  of  the  garden  which  usually  accompanies  each 
side  of  a  walk.  In  fact,  any  bed  which  acts  as  a 
boundary  to  a  walk  or  grass-plot,  or  the  main  quar- 
ters of  a  garden  may  be  properly  described  as  a 
border. 

"Flower-borders  should  be  well  drained.  In  plot- 
ting them  it  must  be  remembered  that  if  narrow  no 
art  will  impart  to  them  an  air  of  boldness.  If  the 
pleasure  grounds  are  small,  narrow  borders  are  per- 
missible. All  flower-borders  should  be  made  in  pro- 
portion to  the  size  of  the  garden  and  other  sur- 
roundings. Neatness  must  be  the  presiding  deity 
over  flower-borders;  and  no  application  of  the  hoe 
and  rake,  no  removal  of  decayed  leaves,  no  tying  up 
of  straggling  members  can  be  too  unremitting."  1 

According  to  Lawson,  the  borders  "should  be 
roses,  thyme,  lavender,  rosemary,  hyssop,  sage  and 
such  like  and  filled  with  cowslips,  primroses,  violets, 
Daffy-do  wn-dil  lies,  sweet  Sissely,  Go-to-bed-at- 
noon,  and  all  sweet  flowers;  and,  chief  of  all,  with 
gilliflowers,  July-flowers,  commonly  called  gilli- 
flowers  or  clove  July-flowers  (I  call  them  so  be- 
cause they  flower  in  July) ;  they  have  the  names  of 
cloves  of  their  scent.  I  may  well  call  them  the  King 

1  Johnson's    "Gardener's    Dictionary    and    Cultural    Instructor," 
edited  by  Eraser  and  Hemsley   (London,  1917). 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  297 

of  Flowers  (except  the  rose).     Of  all  flowers  save 
the  Damask  Rose  they  are  the  most  pleasant  to  sight 

and  smell." 

XVIII 
Edgings 

Edging  is  the  material  used  for  dividing  beds 
and  borders  from  the  paths,  or  grass  leading  up  to 
the  bed,  if  the  bed  is  alongside  a  wall,  or  terrace,  or 
veranda. 

Box  is  a  formal,  but  charming,  edging.  "The 
growth  must  be  regularly  clipped  each  year.  Stretch 
a  line  the  whole  length  of  the  edging,  so  as  to  show 
the  correct  height;  then  cut  evenly  and  neatly  both 
at  top  and  sides.  When  relaying,  take  up  the  plants, 
pull  them  to  pieces  and  use  the  strong  young 
growths,  which  must  be  clipped  to  one  level.  Box 
is  easily  grown  and  stands  pruning  with  impunity." 
Such  is  the  advice  of  an  authority.  Another  prac- 
tical gardener  says:  "Most  amateurs  clip  box- 
edgings  early  in  the  Spring.  This  causes  an  early 
growth,  which  is  just  in  the  condition  to  be  nipped 
by  a  sharp,  late  frost.  The  safeguard  is  to  delay 
clipping  until  the  end  of  August.  Then  comes  free, 
healthy  growth,  which  renders  box-lined  garden 
paths  cheerful  and  pleasant  to  the  eye  through  times 
of  heat  and  drought." 


298      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

Thrift  (Armeria)  is  one  of  the  best  edgings  as  it 
is  green  all  the  year  round  and  in  summer  is  covered 
with  bright  pink  flowers.  A  flower-lover  says : 

"Thrift  is  seen  as  an  edging  in  many  old  English 
gardens.  To  preserve  its  beauty  the  plants  must  be 
lifted,  divided  and  replanted  once  in  at  least  four 
years:  a  rich  even  growth  is  then  the  reward.  The 
tufted  habit,  fresh  green  growth  and  rose-purple 
flowers  in  Summer  are  enjoyable  to  look  at." 

Thrift  requires  frequent  trimming. 

London-pride  (Saxifraga  umbrosa)  is  very  pretty 
when  in  flower  and,  therefore,  makes  an  attractive 
edging. 

Pansies  also  form  a  decorative  edging  for  flower 
beds,  large  and  small. 

Another  charming  edging  is  the  carnation,  espe- 
cially the  white  varieties.  The  gray-green  foliage 
makes  a  beautiful  border  for  flower-beds.  Pinks  are 
pretty,  too,  for  bed  edgings,  and  the  sweet-william 
is  also  attractive  for  this  purpose. 

XIX 

Knots 

The  knot  should  occupy  a  piece  of  ground  from 
twenty-five  to  one  hundred  feet  square.  According 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  299 

to  "The  Gardener's  Labyrinth"  "the  flower-bed 
should  be  kept  to  the  size  that  the  weeder's  hands 
may  well  reach  into  the  middest  of  the  bed."  The 
size  given  in  this  manual  is  twelve  feet  by  six,  "each 
bed  raised  one  foot  above  the  ground  (two  feet  in 
marshy  ground)  and  the  edge  cased  in  with  short 
planks  framed  into  square  posts  with  finials  at  the 
angles  with  intermediate  supports."  A  prettier 
method,  however,  is  to  border  the  flower-bed  with 
an  edging  of  box,  thrift,  pansies,  or  pinks.  This 
border  outlines  the  shape  of  the  knot.  Within  the 
edging,  or  border,  "the  flowers  are  all  planted  in 
some  proportion  as  near  one  into  another  as  it  is  fit 
for  them,  which  will  give  such  grace  to  the  garden 
that  the  place  will  seem  like  a  tapestry  of  flowers." 

It  would  seem  from  the  hundreds  of  designs  for 
knots  in  the  old  garden-books  that  every  possible 
combination  of  scroll  and  line  and  curve  had  been 
exhausted;  but  ingenious  persons  liked  to  invent 
their  own.  Markham  tells  us  that  "the  pattern  of 
the  design  cannot  be  decided  by  rule ;  the  one  where- 
of is  led  by  the  hops  and  skips,  turnings  and  wind- 
ings of  his  brain;  the  other,  by  the  pleasing  of  his 
eye,  according  to  his  best  fantasie." 

Lawson  gives  the  following  nine  designs  for 
knots: 


300      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

Cinkfoyle  Lozenges 

Flower-de-luce *  Cross-bow 

Trefoyle  Diamond 

Frette  Oval 
Maze. 

Here  the  maze  is  not  intended  as  a  labyrinth  to 
walk  in,  but  is  a  design  for  the  planting  of  flowers. 
Markham's  knots  are: 

Straight  line  knots  Mixed  knots 

Diamond    knots,    single  Single  impleate  of  straight 

and  double  line 

Single  knots  Plain  and  mixed 

Direct  and  Circular. 

Knots,  formed  with  "a  border  of  box,  lavender, 
or  rosemary,  are  eighteen  inches  broad  at  bottom 
and  clipped  so  close  a  level  at  the  top  as  to  form  a 
table  for  the  housewife  to  spread  clothes  to  dry  on," 
are  Lawson's  idea. 

The  old  garden  books  contain  many  designs  for 
knots,  some  of  which  are  astonishingly  intricate. 
Examples  occur  in  Markham's  and  Lawson's  books 
and  in  Didymus  Mountain's  "Gardener's  Labyrinth" 
(editions  of  1557,  1594,  and  1608),  which  are  per- 
fectly practical  for  use  to-day. 

1  Fleur-de-lis. 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  301 

In  David  Loggan's  "Oxonia  Illustrata"  (Oxford, 
1675,  folio)  several  large  plates  show  formal  gar- 
dens. Among  them  New  College  Gardens  and  those 
of  Jesus  are  extremely  interesting.  Loggan's  com- 
panion book  on  Cambridge,  "Cantabrigia  Illustrata" 
(Cambridge,  1688),  has  splendid  views  of  architec- 
ture and  formal  gardens  with  knots. 

Typical  flower-beds  are  also  represented  in 
Vredeman  de  Vries's  "Hortorum  Viridariorumque" 
(Antwerp,  1583)  and  Crispin  de  Passe' s  "Hortus 
Floridus"  (Arnhem,  1614). 

Theobald's  as  late  as  1650  preserved  the  Tudor 
arrangement. 

"In  the  great  garden  are  nine  large  complete 
squares,  or  knots,  lying  upon  a  level  in  the  middle  of 
the  said  garden,  whereof  one  is  set  forth  with  box- 
borders  in  the  likeness  of  the  King's  Arms,  one  other 
plot  is  planted  with  choice  flowers;  the  other  seven 
knots  are  all  grass-knots,  handsomely  turfed  in  the 
intervals,  or  little  walks.  A  quickset  hedge  of  white 
thorn,  or  privet,  cut  into  a  handsome  fashion  at 
every  angle,  a  fair  cherry  tree  and  a  cypress  in  the 
middle  of  the  knots — also  a  marble  fountain." 


302      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

XX 

The  Rock-Garden 

It  is  well  to  build  a  little  unostentatious  rock- 
garden  in  some  appropriate  spot  where  a  few  flowers, 
which  you  may  not  want  in  the  beds,  can  grow. 
Flowers  that  find  a  congenial  home  in  a  loosely  ar- 
ranged pile  of  rocks  and  turf  are  anemones,  colum- 
bines, thrift,  thyme,  rosemary,  violets,  buttercups, 
harebells,  ferns,  fennel,  ivy,  myrtle,  pansies,  and 
the  ragged-robin  (gentian). 

Select  weather-worn  stones  and  pile  them  care- 
lessly one  above  another,  placing  some  of  them  as 
shelves.  Leave  plenty  of  room  for  the  earth  and 
let  your  flowers  grow  as  they  please. 

XXI 

Flowers 

As  I  do  not  pretend  to  be  a  practical  gardener, 
having  had  no  experience,  I  have  culled  these  hints 
from  several  authorities,  including  E.  T.  Cook's 
"The  Century  Book  of  Gardening"  (London, 
19,01);  Johnson's  "Gardener's  Dictionary  and  Cul- 
tural Instructor,"  edited  by  Eraser  and  Hemsley 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  303 

(London,  1917);  H.  H.  Thomas's  "The  Complete 
Gardener"  (London,  1912)  ;  and  Mabel  Cabot  Sedg- 
wick's  "The  Garden  Month  by  Month"  (New  York, 
1907). 

ANEMONE  STELLATA  requires  a  sheltered, 
warm  position  and  light,  sandy  soil,  well  drained.  It 
grows  about  ten  inches  high  with  star-like  flowers, 
purple,  rose-color,  and  white.  Generally  speaking, 
it  requires  the  same  treatment  as  the  tulip.  Anem- 
ones also  flourish  in  the  rock-garden. 

BOX  can  be  grown  in  almost  any  soil,  but  prefers 
light  soil  with  gravelly  subsoil.  See  page  297. 

BROOM-FLOWER  (Cytisus  scoparius),  a 
splendid  flowering  shrub  with  yellow  flowers  of 
handsome  color,  succeeds  in  dry,  sandy  places  where 
most  other  plants  fail.  It  can,  therefore,  be  planted 
on  rough  dry  banks.  It  grows  from  seed;  and  this 
can  be  sown  in  any  sheltered  place  out  of  doors. 
Cuttings  placed  in  a  frame  are  also  easy  to  strike. 

CAMOMILE  will  grow  in  any  garden  soil.  It  is 
a  creeping  plant  and  grows  freely  in  dense  masses. 
The  flowers  are  white  and  blossom  from  June  to 
August.  The  height  attained  is  from  twelve  to 
eighteen  inches.  The  foliage  is  finely  divided  and 
has  a  feathery  appearance.  The  plant  makes  a  good 
border,  for  it  loves  the  sun.  Propagate  by  division 


304      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

and  cuttings.  Camomile  may  be  allowed  to  run  over 
paving-stones,  for  it  grows  when  trodden  upon. 
CARNATIONS.  A  carnation  specialist  says: 
"A  great  number  of  amateur  cultivators  of  the 
Carnation  have  an  idea  that  if  they  obtain  seed  from 
a  variety  of  Carnation,  the  seedlings  produced  from 
such  seed  will  be  reproductions  of  the  parent  plant. 
This,  of  course,  is  wrong,  and  it  is  well  to  mention 
it.  Now  to  grow  Carnations  well  they  must  have  a 
good  soil,  or  the  plants  will  not  produce  flowers,  or 
layers,  for  another  season.  For  the  open  garden^  I 
strongly  recommend  seedlings.  The  cultivator  must 
not  expect  all  the  flowers  to  be  as  good  as  the  parent, 
or  even  all  double.  There  will  be  from  ten  to  fifteen 
per  cent  with  single  flowers,  all  the  others  having 
double  flowers,  some  as  good  as,  or  even  better  than, 
their  parents;  but  the  majority  will  be  of  uncertain 
quantity. 

"The  seed  will  germinate  in  a  hothouse  well  with- 
in a  week  from  the  time  of  sowing,  and  the  seedlings 
should  be  pricked  out  in  boxes  as  soon  as  large 
enough.  Plant  in  good  soil  and  let  the  plants  be 
fifteen  inches  apart  and  two  feet  between  the  rows. 
Seedlings  are  not  nearly  so  particular  in  regard  to 
soil  as  named  varieties.  The  seedling  is  more  robust ; 
and,  given  the  same  cultural  conditions,  grows  more 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  30; 

vigorously.  It  is  always  best  to  dig  a  trench  some 
time  before  the  seedling  is  planted.  This  admits  of 
the  soil  being  aerated.  The  plants  should  be  put 
out  after  a  shower  of  good  rain.  I  trench  it  eighteen 
inches  deep,  put  a  layer  of  manure  at  the  bottom 
and  another  layer  six  or  eight  inches  below  the 
surface.  ^ 

"A  warning  is  necessary  to  those  unacquainted 
with  the  nature  of  soils.  It  will  not  do  to  trench  up 
soil  that  has  not  been  there  before.  New  subsoil  is 
not  adapted  to  grow  anything  until  it  has  been  well 
turned  over  two  or  three  times  and  mixed  with  de- 
cayed manure. 

"After  planting,  give  a  light  dressing  of  manure : 
it  keeps  the  roots  in  better  condition  and  the  plant 
starts  more  freely  into  growth.  Carnations  must 
not  be  left  to  themselves  after  planting." 

Gilliflowers,  pinks,  and  sweet-williams  belong  to 
this  family. 

COLUMBINES  prefer  a  situation  where  the 
roots  can  obtain  moisture.  They  also  do  well  and 
look  at  home  in  a  rock-garden.  "Gather  ripe  seeds 
in  July  and  sow  them  so  that  the  seedlings  are  well 
established  before  winter,"  an  authority  says. 
"Such  plants  will  bloom  the  next  year.  Aquilegias 
often  die  out  after  their  second  year,  although  they 


306      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

are  classed  as  perennials,  and  should  therefore  be 
treated  as  biennials  and  raised  annually  from  seed. 
Seed  is  produced  in  abundance  and  should  be  sown 
as  soon  as  ripe  in  a  shady  place  in  the  garden,  or 
in  pans  in  a  cold  frame,  care  being  taken  to  sow  the 
seed  very  thinly.  When  the  seedlings  are  large 
enough  to  handle  they  should  be  lifted  and  planted 
out  in  their  permanent  quarters.  Aquilegias  grow- 
ing in  a  garden  are  almost  invariably  cross-fertilized ; 
and  it  is  therefore  necessary,  where  more  than  one 
variety  is  in  bloom  at  the  same  time,  to  procure  the 
seed  from  some  other  dependable  source." 

COWSLIP.  This  flower  needs  a  rich,  light  soil, 
not  dry.  Its  small,  yellow  cup-like  flowers  with  ruby 
spots  in  the  center  blossom  in  the  late  April  and 
late  May.  It  grows  to  six  or  twelve  inches  and 
prefers  half-shade.  It  must  be  protected  in  the  win- 
ter. Propagate  by  seed.  Cowslips  make  a  charm- 
ing border  plant  and  are  happy,  also,  in  rock- 
gardens. 

CROCUS  SATIVUS,  the  beautiful  purple  flower 
that  blooms  in  autumn,  should  be  planted  near  trees. 
"The  cultivation  of  the  garden  crocus  is  so  simple 
a  matter  that  the  merest  novice  may  plant  the  bulbs 
with  the  assurance  that  he,  or  she,  will  reap  a  bright 
reward  in  the  near  future,  provided  the  burrowing 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  307 

mouse  and  flower-picking  sparrow  do  not  interfere 
with  nature.  Crocuses  may  be  propagated  from  seed 
sown  as  soon  as  ripe  in  light,  sandy  soil  in  pans,  of 
pots.  They  reach  their  flowering  stage  in  three 
years." 

CROW-FLOWERS.  Some  authorities,  as  we 
have  seen,  identify  crow-flowers  as  the  buttercup; 
others,  as  S cilia  nutans.  The  buttercup  is  easy  to 
raise  in  almost  any  soil.  As  it  should  be  represented, 
it  is  well  to  put  it  in  the  rock-garden.  See  Harebell. 

CROWN-IMPERIAL.  This  plant,  which  the 
people  of  Shakespeare's  time  valued  so  highly,  is 
rare  in  our  gardens.  The  popularity  of  the  flower 
decreased  because  of  its  unpleasant  odor;  but  no 
Shakespeare  garden  can  be  without  at  least  one  rep- 
resentative because  of  Perdita's  words.  The  Crown- 
Imperial  is  a  very  showy  plant  and  makes  a  splendid 
effect  if  planted  in  groups.  It  also  looks  well  among 
shrubs  and  in  a  border.  The  blossoms  appear  in 
March,  April,  and  May,  and  are  very  handsome  as 
to  shape  and  color.  The  bell-shaped  flowers, 
orange-red  or  reddish-orange,  droop  gracefully  be- 
neath an  upright  crown  of  leaves.  When  the  foliage 
turns  brown,  the  plant  can  be  cut  down.  Propagate 
by  offsets  in  deep,  rich,  well-drained  soil,  and  divide 
every  two  or  three  years. 


3o8      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

CUCKOO-FLOWERS  (Lychnis  Flos  cuculz),  or 
the  Ragged-Robin,  with  its  deeply  cut  petals  of  rich 
blue,  makes  a  pretty  border  plant  as  it  is  an  abun- 
dant bloomer.  (See  page  214.) 

CUPID'S  FLOWER.    See  Pansy. 

DAFFODILS  do  better  in  half-shade  than  in 
full  sunlight.  The  earlier  the  buds  can  be  procured 
and  planted  the  better :  August  is  none  too  soon. 

"Late  planted  bulbs  must  necessarily  lose  much 
of  their  vigor  by  being  kept  out  of  the  ground  too 
long,  and  the  longer  the  period  of  root-growth  the 
stronger  the  flower-spikes.  As  regards  soil  one  that 
is  fairly  retentive  of  moisture  is  more  suited  to  the 
requirements  than  a  light  staple  that  soon  dries  up. 
They  should  be  covered  to  the  depth  of  one  and  a 
half  times  the  depth  of  the  bulb  measured  from  base 
to  shoulder.  A  bulb  two  inches  deep  can  be  covered 
to  a  depth  of  three  inches,  and  so  on  in  proportion. 
In  light  soil  the  bulbs  should  be  placed  a  little  deeper 
and  in  heavy  soil  not  quite  so  deep." 

DAISY.  In  the  spring  florists  have  plenty  of 
English  daisies  to  sell  in  little  pots.  Propagate  by 
seed  in  spring  or  division  in  September.  This  daisy 
is  pink  and  white;  the  little  rays  tipped  with  pink 
sometimes  almost  cover  the  yellow  center.  The 
plant  requires  rich  soil  and  plenty  of  sunshine.  It 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  309 

blooms  in  mid-April  to  mid-June  and  grows  to  a 
height  of  three  to  six  inches.  The  daisy  must  be 
protected  in  the  winter.  It  is  most  desirable  for 
borders  and  makes  a  charming  edging. 

DIAN'S  BUD,  Artemesia,  or  wormwood,  is  a 
bushy  foliage  plant  of  small  globe-shaped,  drooping 
flowers  of  whitish  yellow.  The  leaves  are  finely  di- 
vided. Propagate  by  division.  This  grows  in  a 
poor  soil  and  likes  sunshine. 

FENNEL,  though  regarded  as  a  weed,  can  be 
utilized  so  that  it  makes  a  decorative  appearance, 
for  its  foliage  is  light  and  a  brilliant  green.  The 
tiny  flowers  are  yellow  and  grow  in  flat-tipped  clus- 
ters on  branching  stalks.  They  blossom  in  July. 
The  plant  rises  to  a  good  height  and  prefers  rich, 
deep,  open  soil  and  plenty  of  sunlight.  Plant  fresh 
seeds  and  make  the  plants  grow  in  bold  groups. 

FERNS  are  effective  planted  in  pots,  jars,  or  tubs, 
and  look  well  at  the  sides  of  the  steps  and  on  the 
newel-posts  of  the  steps.  They  look  well  in  a  rock- 
garden. 

FLOWER-DE-LUCE  (fleur-de-lis}.  There  are 
many  native  American  flags,  or  irises ;  but  the  plants 
nearest  to  those  described  by  Parkinson  are  the  Iris 
florentina,  the  Iris  pseudacorus,  and  the  great  purple 
Turkey  flag. 


310      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

The  Iris  florentina  grows  from  one  to  two  feet, 
blooms  in  May  and  June,  with  large,  delicately 
scented  white  flowers  tinted  blue  and  streaked  with 
purple  veins  and  having  orange-yellow  beards.  The 
fragrant  rootstock  is  the  orris-root.  Propagate  by 
division  in  soil  not  too  dry.  This  is  an  excellent 
border  plant  and  prefers  half-shade. 

Iris  pseudacorus  grows  from  one  and  a  half  to 
three  feet  and  blossoms  in  late  May  and  late  June. 
It  forms  luxuriant  clumps,  having  many  stems, 
which  bear  large  broad-petaled  flowers,  yellow 
veined  with  brown.  The  leaves — long,  stiff,  and 
gray-green — are  handsome.  This  is  a  beautiful  plant 
for  the  margin  of  water,  and  is  very  pretty  around 
a  bird-bath.  Propagate  by  division.  This  iris  likes 
the  sun. 

The  great  purple  Turkey  flag  will  grow  in  either 
sun,  or  half-shade.  The  height  is  from  two  to  four 
feet.  The  large  fragrant  flowers  bloom  in  May, 
June,  and  July.  This  iris  is  very  handsome  in  large 
groups  and  in  the  border.  Propagate  by  division. 
It  is  a  gross  feeder,  but  grows  well  in  any  garden 
soil. 

GILLIFLOWERS.     See  Carnations. 

HAREBELL.  This  lovely  jewel  of  the  English 
woodland  has  drooping  bell-shaped  flowers,  fra- 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  311 

grant,  and  blue  in  color.  The  bells  hang  from  tall 
stems.  The  leaves  are  long  and  grass-like.  The 
height  is  from  eight  to  twelve  inches.  It  is  bulbous. 
Propagate  by  offsets  and  give  it  occasionally  a  top 
dressing  of  manure.  S  cilia  nut  am  blooms  in  May 
and  June  and  prefers  half-shade.  There  are  varie- 
ties, white,  pink,  and  purple. 

HOLLY  should  be  used  for  hedges  and  ornamen- 
tal bushes.  Some  varieties  grow  very  well  in  certain 
parts  of  the  United  States. 

HONEYSUCKLE  grows  easily  in  any  garden. 
It  is  a  luxuriant  creeper  and  is  generous  with  its 
blossoms  and  lavish  in  fragrance.  Use  it  for  hedges 
and  to  climb  over  walls,  arbors,  trellises,  gates  and 
wire  screens. 

IVY.  English  ivy  is  a  climbing  and  trailing  ever- 
green sub-shrub,  with  beautiful  large,  dark-green 
leaves,  richly  veined,  and  of  graceful  heart-shape. 
The  flowers  are  inconspicuous,  but  the  berries,  al- 
most jet-black,  are  decorative.  Propagate  by  half- 
ripe  cuttings  in  rich,  damp  soil  and  protect  in  win- 
ter. Ivy  prefers  shade.  It  blossoms  in  June  and 
July. 

LADY'S-SMOCK  (Cardamine  pretensis)  will 
grow  in  sun,  or  shade,  but  prefers  a  moist  soil. 
Propagate  by  division.  Its  blossoms  are  pinkish  lilac 


312      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

in  terminal  clusters  and  appear  in  June.  The 
foliage  is  deeply  cut.  Lady's-smocks  will  grow  in 
rock-gardens  and  are  excellent  border-plants. 

LARK'S-HEELS.    See  Nasturtium. 

LARKSPUR  is  a  glorious  flower,  noble  in  masses 
of  bloom  and  fine  in  growth,  highly  decorative,  and 
lasts  well  besides.  "Delphiniums  are  very  easy  to 
grow  and  can  be  planted  at  almost  any  time,  but  the 
best  seasons  are  early  autumn  and  spring  when  new 
growth  commences.  The  great  point  is  to  plant 
them  in  rich  well-dug  and  manured  soil  and  strew 
coal-ashes  about  for  the  reason  that  slugs  are  very 
partial  to  these  plants.  Ample  space  must  be  left 
for  full  development  as  with  age  the  roots  increase 
greatly,  so  that  two  and  a  half  feet  apart  is  none 
too  much.  The  plant  needs  a  rather  rich  ground, 
for  its  growth  is  strong.  Larkspur  looks  well  planted 
in  the  back  row  of  the  mixed  border." 

LAVENDER  is  a  precious,  fragrant,  hardy  bush. 
Its  sweet-smelling  leaves  and  blue  flowers  are  ever 
welcome,  whether  in  the  border,  or  as  a  low  hedge, 
or  standing  alone.  A  very  light  soil  and  sunshine 
are  essential.  Propagate  by  cuttings  in  early  autumn 
out  of  doors  in  a  sheltered,  but  not  shady,  place  and 
plant  out  when  rooted,  or  divide  in  March,  plant- 
ing out  the  rooted  slips  one  foot  apart  in  light  soil. 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  313 

Lavender  may  be  used  to  beautify  walks.  Bushes 
in  some  sunny  corner  of  the  garden  are  pretty  for 
picturesque  growth  and  color.  Lavender  can  be 
grouped  so  as  to  give  a  touch  of  silvery  gray  to  the 
border.  It  permits  itself  to  be  clipped,  and  it  must 
be  cared  for,  or  it  will  grow  twisted  and  gnarled.  If 
flower-spikes  are  desired,  the  lavender  must  be 
clipped  in  autumn;  if  the  gray  leaf  is  all  that  is 
desired  then  it  must  be  clipped  in  the  spring  before 
the  young  twigs  have  begun  to  grow. 

LILIES.  The  lily  bed  should  be  deep— three  feet 
if  possible, — the  soil  open  and  porous  without  being 
light.  There  cannot  be  a  better  material  than  sound 
fibrous  loam  with  which  leaf-mold  has  been  mixed. 
Lilies  are  rarely  benefited  by  animal  manure.  The 
bed  should  be  sheltered  from  boisterous  winds,  for 
lilies  lose  half  their  beauty  if  it  becomes  necessary 
to  stake  their  graceful  stems,  and  partially  shaded 
so  that  the  sun  does  not  parch  the  ground,  or  pre- 
maturely wither  their  dainty  petals.  In  times  of 
drought  the  beds  should  be  given  a  copious  soaking 
of  an  hour  or  fwo's  duration. 

The  Madonna  Lily  is  a  great  favorite  and  is  very 
effective  in  small  clumps  against  a  background  of 
shrubs  and  in  borders.  Unfortunately  it  is  subject 
to  disease.  It  is  bulbous.  Propagate  by  offsets, 


3H      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

scales,  or  very  slowly  by  seed.  It  likes  rich,  well- 
dressed  soil  and  half-shade.  Avoid  contact  with 
manure.  The  Madonna  Lily  flowers  in  June  and 
July  with  white  blossoms. 

The  Martagon  has  much  reflexed  flowers  on  long 
spire-like  racemes  and  is  light-purple  with  darker 
spots.  The  Martagon  dalmaticum  grows  from  six 
to  seven  feet.  It  has  dark  purple  flowers.  There 
is  also  a  white  kind.  Both  are  very  hardy  and  suc- 
ceed in  open  borders. 

The  Chalcedonicum,  or  Scarlet  Turk's-Cap,  grows 
from  three  to  four  feet  high  and  has  waxy  flowers 
of  bright  vermilion.  This  is  the  brightest  of  all 
lilies.  It  is  very  hardy  and  easy  to  cultivate. 

Lily-of-the- Valley  flourishes  in  the  shade  and  also 
where  there  is  a  little  (but  not  too  much)  sunlight. 
It  thrives  beneath  shade  trees  and  near  a  wall.  Room 
for  development  it  must  have;  otherwise  it  becomes 
crowded  to  such  an  extent  that  the  plants  deteriorate 
and  fail  to  bloom.  The  Lily-of-the- Valley  should 
be  planted  in  September  or  October.  Prepare  the 
soil  by  deep  digging  and  mix  in  a  plentiful  supply 
of  decayed  manure.  Leaf-soil  and  road  sweepings 
may  be  added  to  heavy  soil.  Plant  crowns  about 
three  inches  apart  to  allow  room  for  future  develop- 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  315 

ment.  Bury  the  crowns  just  below  the  surface  and 
make  them  moderately  firm.  When  all  are  planted 
mulch  with  rolled  manure  and  leaf-soil  in  equal 
parts,  covering  the  bed  to  a  depth  of  two  inches. 

LONG  PURPLES.  This  Arum,  being  a  plant  of 
the  woods,  does  well  in  the  rock-garden.  The  best 
plan  is  to  remove  a  Jack-in-the-Pulpit  from  the 
woods  with  some  of  its  native  soil  and  transplant  it 
in  the  garden.  It  grows  in  shade  and  sun  alike. 

MARIGOLD.  For  marigolds  choose  a  light,  dry, 
poor  soil  and  a  sunny  spot.  Sow  seed  any  time  from 
February  to  June.  Seeds  sown  in  the  spring  will 
produce  flowers  in  June.  Sow  in  drills  ten  inches 
apart  and  water  moderately.  Thin  the  seedlings 
and  remove  into  rows  ten  inches  apart.  In  rich  soil 
the  plant  grows  too  large  and  fails  to  blossom  well. 
H.  H.  Thomas  in  "The  Complete  Gardener"  says: 

"The  ordinary  reader  understands  Marigold  to 
refer  to  the  French,  African  and  Pot  Marigolds.  The 
botanical  name  Calendula  is  said  to  imply  that  the 
plant  keeps  pace  with  the  calendar.  In  other  words 
that  it  is  nearly  always  in  bloom.  And  really  this 
is  not  very  far  from  the  truth.  Once  introduce  the 
Pot  MarigoM  into  your  garden  and  you  will  rarely 
be  without  flowers.  It  is  hardy  and  seeds  itself  very 


316      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

freely.  Seed  may  be  sown  out  of  doors  where  the 
plants  are  to  bloom,  choosing  for  preference  poor 
ground,  otherwise  the  plants  will  grow  freely  enough, 
but  blooms  will  be  scarce." 

The  French  marigold  is  deep  yellow,  orange,  or 
pale  yellow  striped  or  marked  with  brown,  and 
crinkled.  It  grows  from  twelve  to  fifteen  inches 
high.  "The  Gentleman's  Labyrinth"  gives  quaint 
instructions  for  the  growth  of  the  Marigold : 

"The  seeds  of  this  flower  are  commonly  bestowed 
in  a  husbandly  and  well-dressed  earth,  but  this 
rather  done  by  the  counsel  of  the  skilful  in  the  in- 
crease of  the  Moon,  whereby  the  flowers  may  grow 
the  bigger  and  broader.  But  to  procure  the  flowers 
to  grow  the  doubler,  bigger  and  broader  the  owner 
ought  to  remove  the  plants  and  set  them  in  new 
beds,  lying  in  sunny  places  herein  considering  at 
those  times  of  removing  that  the  Moon  be  increasing 
so  nigh  as  you  can.  These,  after  certain  leaves 
spring  up,  if  they  be  often  removed  and  clipped  by 
the  course  of  the  Moon,  yield  a  better,  broader  and 
fairer  flower,  and  they  yield  always  more  flowers  in 
the  harvest  than  in  the  spring  time." 

MARJORAM  is  a  branching  plant  with  flowers 
in  clusters,  purplish  pink.  Propagate  by  seed  and 
division  in  early  spring  in  any  garden  soil.  Sweet 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  317 

marjoram  must  be  treated  as  an  annual,  for  winter 
kills  it.  The  leaves  are  deliciously  fragrant  and  are 
useful  in  cookery. 

MINT  (Mentha  spicata,  spearmint)  has  purplish 
flowers  that  bloom  in  July  and  August.  These  blos- 
soms appear  in  slender  spikes.  The  leaves  have  a 
pleasant  taste  and  are  used  for  flavoring.  Spearmint 
will  grow  in  any  ordinary  soil,  but  it  likes  the  sun. 
It  grows  from  one  to  two  feet  high. 

Mentha  rotundi folia  has  round  leaves,  variegated, 
and  pale  yellow  flowers  that  appear  in  June  and 
July.  Propagate  by  division.  The  height  is  from 
one  to  two  feet.  The  flowers  are  unimportant;  but 
the  foliage  is  sufficiently  interesting  to  use  as  an 
edging,  and  this  variety  is  useful  to  cover  waste 
places. 

MONK'S-HOOD  has  large  showy  helmet-shaped 
flowers  of  deep  purple-blue  growing  on  racemes  on 
erect  stems.  The  leaves  are  deeply  cut.  The  plant 
is  suited  to  borders  and  rough  places.  Propagate 
by  division  in  rich  soil.  Monk's-hood  likes  sun  or 
shade.  It  blooms  in  late  summer  or  early  autumn. 
The  roots  and  flowers  are  poisonous.  It  grows  from 
three  to  four  feet. 

MYRTLE  (Myrtus  lati folia).  This  plant  has 
charming  foliage  and  pure  white  flowers.  Both 


3i8      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

leaves  and  flowers  are  fragrant.  The  fragrance  of 
the  foliage  is  caused  by  an  oil,  which  is  secreted  in 
the  leaves.  Myrtle  is  quite  hardy.  Propagate  by 
cuttings,  or  partially  ripened  shoots.  Myrtle  looks 
well  in  large  pots. 

NASTURTIUM.  Tropaolum  is  the  botanical 
name,  meaning  trophy,  for  the  leaves  suggest  a  buck- 
ler and  the  flowers  a  helmet.  Treat  as  a  hardy  an- 
nual. Sow  seeds  in  the  spring.  Nasturtium  is  a 
splendid  climber  over  rocks,  stones,  or  latticework, 
and  a  prolific  bloomer. 

OXLIP.  Propagate  by  fresh  seed,  divisions,  or 
cuttings  in  rich,  light  soil,  not  dry.  Protect  in  win- 
ter. The  oxlip  grows  from  eight  to  twelve  inches 
and  likes  half-shade.  It  resembles  the  primrose,  but 
has  larger  flowers.  These  open  in  May  and  are 
yellow.  The  leaves  are  broad  and  flat  and  wrinkled. 

PANSY.  Heart' s-ease  and  Johnny-Jump-Up  are 
other  names  for  the  Viola  tricolor,  which  has  a  won- 
derful length  of  blossoming,  for  the  flowers  continue 
from  mid-April  to  mid-September.  The  flowers 
must  be  constantly  picked,  or  the  plant  deteriorates. 
This  precious  little  plant  is  very  easy  to  raise,  pro- 
vided it  is  protected  from  the  noonday  sun.  Propa- 
gate by  seed  or  division  in  any  garden  soil,  and  in 
half-shade  or  morning  sunlight.  Protect  it  from 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  319 

the  hot  noon-day  sun.  Pansies  look  well  in  a  bed 
by  themselves  and  make  a  beautiful  border  plant. 

PINKS.     See  Carnations. 

POMEGRANATE  is  a  highly  decorative  shrub, 
particularly  the  beautiful  double  scarlet  variety 
(Punica  rubrum  florepleno),  which  flowers  in  Au- 
gust. Plant  cutting  in  a  big  pot,  jar,  or  tub,  or  buy 
plants.  Stand  these  plants  in  pairs  in  some  con- 
spicuous place  in  the  garden  and  they  will  add  great 
elegance. 

POPPY.  The  common  garden  herbaceous  poppy 
flowers  in  May  and  June,  in  sun  or  half-shade,  rising 
from  two  to  three  feet.  It  has  large  flowers  and 
handsome  divided  foliage.  For  a  Shakespeare  gar- 
den select  the  white.  Propagate  by  dividing  in  early 
autumn.  The  poppy  is  a  gross  feeder  and  likes 
rather  moist  loam  enriched  with  cow  manure. 

PRIMROSE.  This  flower  blooms  from  mid- 
April  to  mid-June.  It  has  several  solitary  pale  yel- 
low blossoms  on  naked  stem.  It  grows  from  six  to 
nine  inches  high.  Protect  in  winter.  Propagate  by 
seeds  and  offsets  in  rich,  light  soil,  not  dry. 

ROSE.  "How  to  plant  a  rose  may  seem  a  simple 
matter,  but  many  have  laid  the  foundation  of  failure 
through  bad  planting,"  writes  a  rose  cultivator. 
"Never  plant  in  a  very  wet  soil,  nor  allow  crude 


320      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

manures  to  come  into  direct  contact  with  the  roots. 
See  that  the  roots  are  spread  out  properly  and  natu- 
rally, not  pressed  into  a  small  hole  and  cramped 
or  distorted  from  the  first.  Plant  dwarf  kinds  two 
inches  deeper  than  the  junction  of  the  rose  and  stock, 
and  standards  three  inches  below  the  original  root. 
To  place  a  small  grower  side  by  side  with  one  of 
three  or  four  times  the  strength  is  a  great  mistake; 
the  weaker  grower  has  no  chance  whatever.  For 
medium  growers  three  feet  is  a  good  distance,  while 
plants  of  greater  vigor  will  need  to  be  from  four 
feet  to  six  feet  apart.  Do  not  plant  against  a  wall ; 
but  leave  some  four  or  six  inches  between  the  wall 
and  the  base  of  the  plant.  "It  should  not  be  difficult 
to  obtain  the  roses  familiar  to  Shakespeare.  The 
old  Hundred-Leaved  and  Damask  are  easy  to  pro- 
cure. The  Rosa  alba,  or  white  rose,  has  two  familiar 
varieties  called  "Maiden's  Blush"  and  "Madame 
Plantier." 

The  Musk-Rose  may  give  some  trouble,  but  E.  T. 
Cook  gives  us  a  good  clue  as  well  as  instructions 
for  growing  it.  He  says: 

"These  are  very  old  roses,  certainly  known  in 
England  three  hundred  years  ago.  The  flowers  are 
insignificant  individually,  but  collectively  are  pleas- 
ing and  appear  late  in  August.  They  require  good 


KNOTS    FROM    MARKHAM 


SIMPLE    GARDEN    BEDS 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  321 

culture,  and  very  little,  if  any,  pruning.  As  pillar 
roses  they  are  seen  at  their  best.  'Fringed'  is  very 
pretty  and  strikes  freely  from  cuttings.  Its  color 
is  white  shaded  sulphur.  All  the  Musk-Roses  have 
a  peculiar  musk-like  odor,  but  this  is  distilled  only 
on  still  damp  mornings  or  evenings.  'Eliza  Verry' 
is  white,  very  free,  the  flowers  appearing  in  large 
corymbs.  'Rivers  Musk'  is  a  pretty  pink  variety, 
well  worth  cultivating.  Of  the  Hybrid  Musks  the 
'Garland'  is  of  rampant  growth.  It  has  immense 
corymbs  of  tiny  white  flowers  with  innumerable  lit- 
tle buff  colored  buds,  peering  out  among  them. 
'Madame  d'  Arblay'  is  another.  'Nivea'  is  a  beauti- 
ful kind  for  a  pergola,  or  fence." 

The  "Noisette"  is  also  a  hybrid  musk,  named  for 
a  French  gardener  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina, 
who  took  the  seed  from  the  musk-rose  in  1817. 

There  is  a  difference  between  the  Eglantine,  or 
Sweetbrier,  and  the  Dog-rose,  although  they  are  dif- 
ficult to  distinguish. 

"The  'Dog  Rose'  sends  up  long  arching  branches 
some  six  to  nine  feet  high  and  perhaps  more;  the 
'Sweetbrier'  is  content  with  branches  three  or  four 
feet  in  length.  And  whereas  in  the  'Dog  Rose'  the 
branch  continues  single  the  'Sweetbrier'  sends  out 
side  growths,  or  branchlets  quickly  forming  a  dense 


322      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

bush.  Note  also  the  prickles.  To  a  certain  extent 
they  are  stout  and  hooked  like  those  of  the  'Dog 
Rose/  but  more  irregularly  placed.  On  the  young 
root-shoots  there  is  a  marked  difference,  for  whilst 
on  the  'Sweetbrier'  this  young  growth  is  covered 
with  seta,  some  of  them  very  small,  tipped  with 
glands,  in  the  'Dog  Rose7  they  are  totally  absent."  l 

ROSEMARY.  Tender,  aromatic  sub-shrub  with 
small  flowers  in  short  racemes.  Propagate  by  seeds, 
cuttings,  or  layers  in  dry,  light  soil.  The  flowers 
are  purple  and  bluish.  Rosemary  is  valued  in 
cookery  as  a  flavoring.  It  can  be  allowed  to  wander 
all  over  the  garden.  It  was  always  a  favorite  border- 
plant  in  old-fashioned  gardens. 

RUE.  The  "herb  of  grace"  is  not  very  pretty. 
It  has  much  divided  leaves  and  panicles  of  small 
fragrant  flowers,  yellowish-green,  or  greenish-yel- 
low. Propagate  by  seed  and  division.  Rue  needs 
a  sheltered  position  and  protection  in  winter.  Its 
height  is  about  two  feet. 

SAVORY.  Sow  in  open  ground  at  the  end  of 
March,  or  early  April,  in  light,  rich  soil.  Thin  the 
seedlings  moderately;  they  may  remain  where  they 
are,  or  be  transplanted.  Sown  along  the  outside  of 

'Pemberton,  "Roses"   (London,   1908). 


LAY-OUT  OF  STATELY  GARDENS  323 

beds,  savory  makes  a  good  edging.  It  is  useful  in 
cookery. 

SWEET  BALM.  Melissa  officinalis  is  the  botani- 
cal name.  Sweet  balm  is  loved  for  its  fragrance. 
The  yellowish  white  flowers  bloom  in  June,  July, 
and  August.  It  grows  about  two  feet  and  loves  the 
sun.  Propagate  by  seed  and  division. 

SWEET-WILLIAM  is  a  valuable  little  garden 
plant,  for  it  blooms  profusely  in  June  and  July  and 
is  vigorous  and  rapidly  spreading.  The  flowers  are 
in  double  clusters,  pink,  white,  red,  and  party- 
colored,  single  and  double.  Propagate  by  seed  in 
any  soil.  See  Carnations. 

THYME.  This  aromatic  herb  is  of  dense  growth 
with  small,  pale-lilac  flowers  in  terminal  spikes.  Its 
pale,  bright-green  foliage  makes  it  an  attractive 
creeper  for  banks.  Thyme  also  grows  well  in  a  rock- 
garden  and  makes  a  good  border-plant  also.  Propa- 
gate by  seed  and  division.  The  plant  grows  in  any 
soil.  It  attains  a  height  of  from  one  to  two  inches 
and  blossoms  in  June  and  July.  Every  one  knows 
the  value  of  dried  thyme  for  flavoring  in  cookery. 

VIOLETS  prefer  shady  places.  They  are  at  home 
in  the  rock-garden,  and  they  are  very  charming  if 
planted  on  a  little  bank.  They  can  be  sown  on  the 
grassy  slope  of  a  terrace.  In  that  case,  let  them 


324      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

come  up  of  their  own  sweet  will.  The  graceful 
heart-shaped  leaves  of  the  Viola  odorata  and  its 
purple  blossoms  that  open  in  late  April  and  May 
are  known  and  loved  by  every  one.  Propagate  by 
seed  or  division,  selecting  a  loose,  rich,  sandy  soil. 

XXII 

Potpourri 

As  the  ladies  of  Shakespeare's  time  were  so  fond 
of  making  potpourri,  I  think  it  may  be  of  value  to 
place  here  an  old  recipe,  which  any  one  who  has  a 
garden  can  follow: 

"Many  fragrant  flowers  and  leaves  can  be  used 
in  the  making  of  an  old-fashioned  bowl  of  pot- 
pourri. Those  usually  employed  are  rose-petals, 
lavender,  lemon-plant,  verbena,  myrtle,  rosemary, 
bay,  mignonette,  violets,  pinks  and  syringa.  Thyme, 
mint  and  other  sweet  herbs  should  be  used,  if  avail- 
able. Shred  the  larger  leaves  and  dry  all  in  the 
sun.  Mix  an  ounce  of  orris-root,  allspice,  bay-salt 
and  cloves  and  mix  freely  with  about  twelve  hand- 
fuls  of  the  dried  petals  and  leaves  and  store  in  a 
jar,  or  bowl.  A  small  quantity  of  essence  of  lemon 
and  spirits  of  lavender  may  be  added,  but  are  not 
necessary.  Should  the  mixture  become  too  moist, 
add  more  powdered  orris-root." 


A  MASKE  OF  FLOWERS 


A  MASKE  OF  FLOWERS 

IT  seems  to  me  that  nothing  more  appropriate 
could  be  placed  here  as  an  epilogue  to  this  book 
on  the  Shakespeare  garden  than  the  contempo- 
rary description  of  "A  Maske  of  Flowers  by  the 
Gentlemen  of  Gray's  Inn  at  Whitehall  on  Twelfth 
Night,  1613,  being  the  last  of  the  solemnities  and 
magnificences  which  were  performed  at  the  marriage 
of  the  Earl  of  Somerset  and  Lady  Frances,  daughter 
of  the  Earl  of  Suffolk,  Lord  Chamberlain." 

This  was  printed  in  1614;  and  I  have  quoted  it 
from  the  "History  of  Gardening  in  England"  by 
the  Hon.  Alicia  Amherst  (London,  1895),  who 
copied  it  from  a  very  rare  original. 

This  description  not  only  presents  a  perfect  pic- 
ture of  a  Shakespearian  garden  but  will  be  a  revela- 
tion to  those  persons  who  think  that  only  crude  stage- 
setting  existed  in  Elizabethan  and  Jacobean  days. 
Although  elaborate  stage-setting  was  restricted  to 
private  entertainments,  the  designers  of  the  period 
knew  how  to  produce  splendid  effects.  There  is 

32? 


328      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

nothing  more  elaborate  in  the  theater  today  than  this 
ornate  and  brilliantly  lighted  scene : 

"When  the  Dance  ended,  the  loud  music  sounded. 
The  curtains  being  drawn  was  seen  a  Garden  of  a 
glorious  and  strange  beauty,  cast  into  four  Quarters 
with  a  cross-walk  and  alleys  compassing  each  Quar- 
ter. In  the  middle  of  the  cross-walk  stood  a  goodly 
Fountain,  raised  on  four  columns  of  silver.  On  the 
tops  whereof  strode  four  statues  of  silver  which  sup- 
ported a  bowl  in  circuit  containing  four  and  twenty 
foot  and  was  raised  from  the  ground  nine  foot  in 
height,  in  the  middle  whereof,  upon  scrolls  of  silver 
and  gold,  was  placed  a  globe  garnished  with  four 
golden  mask  heads,  out  of  which  issued  water  into 
the  bowl;  above  stood  a  golden  Neptune,  in  height 
three  foot,  holding  in  his  hand  a  trident. 

"The  Garden  walls  were  of  brick,  artificially 
painted  in  perspective,  all  along  which  were  placed 
fruit-trees  with  artificial  leaves  and  fruits.  The 
Garden  within  the  walls  was  railed  about  with  rails 
of  three  foot  high,  adorned  with  balusters  of  silver, 
between  which  were  placed  pedestals  beautified  with 
transparent  lights  of  variable  colors.  Upon  the 
pedestals  stood  silver  columns,  upon  the  tops  where- 
of were  personages  of  gold,  lions  of  gold  and  uni- 
corns of  silver.  Every  personage  and  beast  did  hold 


A  MASKE  OF  FLOWERS  329 

a  torchet  burning,  that  gave  light  and  luster  to  the 
whole  fabric. 

"Every  Quarter  of  the  Garden  was  finely  hedged 
about  with  a  low  hedge  of  cypress  and  juniper;  the 
Knots  within  set  with  artificial  flowers.  In  the  two 
first  Quarters  were  two  Pyramids,  garnished  with 
gold  and  silver,  and  glittering  with  transparent  lights 
resembling  carbuncles,  sapphires  and  rubies. 

"In  every  corner  of  each  Quarter  were  great  pots 
of  gilliflowers  which  shadowed  certain  lights  placed 
behind  them  and  made  resplendent  and  admirable 
luster.  The  two  farther  Quarters  were  beautified 
with  tulips  of  divers  colors,  and  in  the  middle  and 
in  the  corners  of  the  said  Quarters  were  set  great 
tufts  of  several  kinds  of  flowers  receiving  luster  from 
secret  lights  placed  behind  them. 

"At  the  farther  end  of  the  Garden  was  a  Mount, 
raised  by  degrees  resembling  banks  of  earth  covered 
with  grass.  On  the  top  of  the  Mount  stood  a  goodly 
Arbor,  substantially  made  and  covered  with  arti- 
ficial trees  and  with  arbor  flowers  such  as  eglantine, 
honeysuckles  and  the  like.  The  Arbor  was  in  length 
three  and  thirty  foot,  in  height  one  and  twenty,  sup- 
ported with  termes  of  gold  and  silver.  It  was  di- 
vided into  six  arches  and  three  doors  answerable 
to  the  three  walks  of  the  Garden. 


330      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

"In  the  middle  of  the  Arbor  rose  a  goodly  large 
turret  and  at  either  end  a  smaller.  Upon  the  top 
of  the  Mount  in  the  front  thereof  was  a  bank  of 
flowers,  curiously  painted  behind,  while  within  the 
arches  the  maskers  sat  unseen. 

"Behind  the  Garden,  over  the  top  of  the  Arbor, 
were  set  artificial  trees  appearing  like  an  Orchard 
joining  to  the  Garden;  and  over  all  was  drawn  in 
perspective  a  Firmament  like  the  skies  in  a  clear 
night.  Upon  a  grassy  seat  under  the  Arbor  sat  the 
Garden  Gods  in  number  twelve,  apparrelled  in  long 
robes  of  green  rich  taffeta,  caps  on  their  heads  and 
chaplets  of  flowers.  In  the  midst  of  them  sat 
Primaura,  at  whose  entreaty  they  descended  to  the 
stage,  and,  marching  up  to  the  King,  sung  to  lutes 
and  theorbos."  l 

1The  tenor  lute. 


COMPLETE   LIST    OF    SHAKESPEARIAN    FLOW- 
ERS   WITH   BOTANICAL   IDENTIFICATIONS 

Anemone  (Anemone  pur  pur  ea  striata  stellata). 

Box  (Buxus  sempervirens). 

Broom-flower  (Cytisus  scoparius). 

Camomile   (Anthemis  nobilis). 

Carnation  (Dianthus  caryopkyllus). 

Columbine  (Aquilegia  vulgaris). 

Cowslip  (Paralysis  vulgaris  pratensis). 

Crocus  (Crocus  verus  sativus  autumnalis). 

Crow-flower  (S cilia  nutans). 

Crown-imperial  (Fritillaria  imperalis). 

Cuckoo-buds  (Ranunculus). 

Cuckoo-flowers  (Lychnis  Flos  cuculi). 

Daffodil  (Narcissus  pseudo-narcissus). 

Daisy  (Bellis  perennis). 

Diana's-bud    (Artemesid). 

Fennel  (Fceniculum  vulgar e). 

Fern   (Pteris  aquilind). 

Flower-de-luce  (Iris  pseudacorus). 

Gilliflower  (Caryopkyllus  major). 

Harebell  (S cilia  nutans). 

Holly  (Ilex  aquifolium). 

Honeysuckle    (Lonicera  per  folium). 

Ivy  (Hedera  helix). 

Lady-smocks  (Cardamine  pratensis). 

Lark's-heels,  Nasturtium. 

33i 


332      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

Larkspur  (Delphinium). 

Lavender  (Lavendula  spied). 

Lily  (Lilium  candidum). 

Long  purples  (Arum  masculata). 

Marigold  (Calendula  officinalis). 

Marjorum  (Origanum  vulgar e). 

Mint  (Mentha). 

Mistletoe  (Viscum  album). 

Monks-hood  (Aconitum  Napellus)* 

Myrtle  (Myrtus  latifolid). 

Oxlip  (Primula  eliator). 

Pansy  (Viola  tricolor). 

Pomegranate  (Punica). 

Poppy  (Papaver  somniferum). 

Primrose  (Primula  vulgaris). 

Rose  (Rosa). 

Rosemary  (Rosmarinus  officinalis)* 

Rue  (Ruta  graveolus). 

Savory  (Satureia). 

Sweet  Balm  (Melissa  officinalis). 

Thyme  (Thymus  serpyllum). 

Violet  (Viola  odorata). 


APPENDIX 

ELIZABETHAN    GARDEN    AT    SHAKESPEARE^ 
BIRTHPLACE 

TWO  reports  made  in  the  spring  of  1920, 
one  by  Frederick  C.  Wellstood,  secretary 
and  librarian  of  the  Trustees  and  Guardians 
of  Shakespeare's  Birthplace,  and  the  other  by  Ernest 
Law,  C.B.,  one  of  the  trustees,  will  doubtless  be  of 
interest  to  the  reader.  They  have  been  made  avail- 
able through  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Law. 

Mr.  Wellstood,  writing  on  Easter,  1920,  in  his 
report  says: 

"The  appeal  of  the  Trustees  and  Guardians  of 
Shakespeare's  Birthplace,  &c.  issued  three  months 
ago,  for  gifts  of  Elizabethan  plants  and  flowers, 
wherewith  to  stock  his  'Great  Garden'  at  Stratford- 
upon-Avon,  has  had  a  very  gratifying  response.  The 
King  and  Queen,  Queen  Alexandra  and  the  Prince 
of  Wales,  have  graciously  interested  themselves  in 
the  project,  and  have  given  practical  support  by 

333 


334       THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

valuable  contributions  of  old-fashioned  roses  and 
other  flowers. 

"From  the  gardens  of  all  the  Royal  Palaces,  which 
were  known  to  Shakespeare,  ample  parcels  of  the 
same  sorts  of  flowers  as  grew  in  them  when  he  visited 
them  have  been  forwarded  to  Stratford-upon-Avon. 
Thus,  from  Greenwich,  where  we  know  that  he  ap- 
peared as  an  actor  before  Queen  Elizabeth  at  Christ- 
mas, 1594;  from  Windsor,  where  his  Company  per- 
formed before  the  same  Queen — probably  in  "The 
Merry  Wives  of  Windsor" — as  well  as  from  Frog- 
more,  which  that  play  proves  his  acquaintance  with ; 
from  Hampton  Court — out  of  the  Old  Tudor 
Garden,  'circum-mured  with  brick,'  which  he  must 
have  visited  when  he  and  his  fellows  of  the  /King's 
Company  of  Actors'  spent  ten  days  there  during  the 
Christmastide  of  1603-4,  presenting  six  plays  before 
King  James  and  his  Court — from  the  gardens  of  all 
these  places  large  consignments  of  plants  have 
reached  Shakespeare's  Garden. 

"From  Wilton,  likewise,  where  Shakespeare  and 
his  Company  first  acted  before  King  James,  a  large 
number  of  specimens  of  every  plant  and  flower 
wanted  by  the  Trustees,  has  been  sent  by  the  present 
owner — the  lineal  descendant  of  the  one,  and  the 
kinsman  and  representative  of  the  other,  of  the  two 


ELIZABETHAN  GARDEN  335 

'most  noble  and  incomparable  Paire  of  Brethren, 
William  Earle  of  Pembroke  and  Philip  Earle  of 
Montgomery  .  .  .  who  prosequuted  the  Author 
living  with  so  much  favor7 — to  quote  the  words  of 
the  famous  'First  Folio/  which  was  dedicated  to 
them. 

"Similarly,  from  the  gardens  of  other  places, 
which  Shakespeare  must  have  known  well,  have 
come  very  welcome  gifts,  notably  from  Charlecote, 
close  to  Stratford — the  beautiful  home  of  the  Lucys 
for  750  years,  where  Shakespeare  is  said  when  a 
youth  to  have  poached  the  deer  of  Sir  Thomas  Lucy, 
who  had  him  whipped  for  his  offense — whence  now 
comes  a  charming  collection  of  the  poet's  favorite 
flowers  from  the  direct  lineal  descendant  and  heiress 
of  the  original  'Justice  Shallow.' 

"The  trustees  have  also  received  choice  batches  of 
old-fashioned  flowers  from  the  gardens  of  medieval 
Castles  mentioned  in  the  plays — Glamis  and  Caw- 
dor,  for  instance — and  some  which  were  probably 
well  known  to  Shakespeare,  such  as  Berkeley  Castle ; 
and  from  the  great  Tudor  houses  also,  which  he 
knew  well,  at  any  rate  by  repute,  such  as  Knole, 
Burghley  House,  and  Cobham  Hall.  The  owner  of 
Cobham  Hall  sends  specimens  of  the  famous  'Cob- 
ham'  Rose,  known  to  have  been  grown  in  the  garden 


336      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

there  for  four  or  five  hundred  years.  From  Esher 
Place  also— the  'Aster  House'  of  'King  Henry  VIIF 
— come  many  beautiful  flowers  and  herbs. 

"The  sentiment,  which  has  prompted  such 
generosity,  has  equally  appealed  to  many  possessors 
of  more  modern  gardens;  while  the  authorities  of 
Kew  Gardens,  regarding  the  scheme  as  one  of  na- 
tional concern,  have  cordially  aided  the  Trustees 
both  with  counsel  and  with  contributions. 

"Last,  but  by  no  means  least,  are  the  many  small 
gifts  from  quite  small  gardens,  even  of  cottagers; 
while,  in  some  ways,  the  most  pleasing  of  all,  are 
the  subscriptions  from  school  children  of  some  of  the 
poorest  districts  in  the  East  End  of  London — for 
instance,  of  the  Mansford  Street  Central,  and 
Pritchard's  Road  Schools,  Bethnal  Green — for  the 
purchase  of  favorite  flowers  of  the  dramatist,  whose 
plays  they  have  so  often  witnessed  with  delight  at 
the  'Old  Vic/  and  elsewhere. 

"Thus,  effect  has  been  given  to  a  prime  desire  of 
the  Trustees,  that  as  large  as  possible  a  number  of 
people  in  every  section  of  the  community  should  be 
associated  with  this  tribute  to  Shakespeare's  memory. 

"Most  of  the  plants  needful  to  furnish  forth 
Shakespeare's  garden  in  the  style  of  his  own  time 
have  been  forthcoming  in  sufficient  quantities — yet 


ELIZABETHAN  GARDEN  337 

there  are  some  important  gaps  still  to  be  supplied. 
These  are: — Box,  dwarf  Box,  both  the  ordinary 
and  the  'Gilded'  variety;  Thrift;  Thyme,  the  Golden 
and  Glaucous,  as  well  as  the  Wild;  and  that  pretty 
herb,  known  under  its  simple  old  English  name  as 
'Lavender  Cotton.'  Of  all  of  these,  thousands  of 
plants  are  still  needed.  Similarly  of  Pinks, 
'Streaked  Gillyflowers';  'Spike  Lavender';  and  of 
Pansies — 'Love  in  Idleness,' — pale  and  dark  'purple 
with  Love's  wound.'  Of  'Eglantine' — Sweet  Briar 
— a  few  scores  would  be  very  welcome. 

"Such  shortages  are  mainly  due  to  the  large 
quantities  of  these  plants  required  for  the  purpose 
of  filling  the  intricate-patterned  beds  of  the  'Curious 
Knotted  Garden.'  That  kind  of  garden  was  an  in- 
variable adjunct  to  every  house  of  importance  in 
Shakespeare's  time,  and  the  Trustees  are  laying  one 
out  on  what  is  believed  to  be  the  exact  site  of  the 
poet's  own  'knotted  garden,'  modeling  it  on  the 
designs  printed  in  the  contemporary  books  on  garden- 
ing— the  designs  being  followed  with  a  fidelity  and 
completeness  unattempted,  it  is  believed,  for  two 
hundred  and  eighty  years.  At  the  same  time,  sug- 
gestions have  naturally  been  sought  in  Bacon's 
famous  Essay  'On  Gardens.'  .  .  ." 


338      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

SHAKESPEARE'S  GARDEN  RESTORED 

Mr.  Law's  report,  which  is  dated  "Shakespeare's 
Birthday,  A.  D.  1920,"  says: 

"The  project  of  laying  out  the  ground  attached  to 
Shakespeare's  home  in  his  later  years  as  an  Eliza- 
bethan garden,  to  be  stocked  with  all  the  old- 
fashioned  flowers  mentioned  by  him  in  his  plays  or 
well  known  in  his  time,  first  took  practical  shape 
last  winter. 

THE    LONG  BORDERS 

"The  first  step  was  to  lay  out  the  long,  narrow 
strip  of  ground  by  the  side  of  the  wall  parallel  with 
Chapel  Lane  as  a  border  for  summer  and  autumn 
flowers — hollyhocks,  canterbury-bells,  lupins,  lark- 
spurs, crown  imperials,  lilies,  and  so  on.  As  a  back- 
ground for  these — and  also  to  hide  the  ugly,  cast- 
iron  railings  that  disfigure  the  top  of  the  wall — there 
was  planted  a  row  of  yew  trees.  This  border  of  some 
300  feet  long  has  been  treated  in  the  formal  fashion 
of  the  olden  time  .  .  .  being  divided  into  com- 
partments, separated  by  'buttresses'  supporting  'pil- 
lars' or  'columns'  surmounted  by  'balls.' 

"On  the  path  side  the  beds  are  edged  with  box — 


ELIZABETHAN  GARDEN  339 

'dwarfe  boxe,  of  excellent  use  to  border  up  a  knott 
or  long  beds  in  a  garden.' 

"The  beds  ranging  with  these,  on  the  other  side 
of  the  gravel  walk,  are  at  present  entirely  occupied 
with  spring  flowers — largely  gifts,  like  the  others, 
from  contributors  all  over  the  kingdom.  In  the 
summer  they  will  be  furnished  with  the  low-growing 
flowers  known  to  the  gardeners  of  the  early  years  of 
James  the  First's  reign — carnations,  'our  streaked 
gillyvors,'  pansies,  stocks,  fox-gloves,  sweet- 
williams,  snapdragons,  and  so  on.  ... 

THE    WILD   BANK  OF   HEATH 

"At  the  eastern  or  lower  end  of  the  garden  the  aim 
has  been  to  carry  out,  so  far  as  the  space  available 
admits,  Bacon's  idea,  expressed  in  his  famous  essay 
'Of  Gardens,'  of  a  'heath  or  desert,  in  the  going 
forth,  framed,  as  much  as  may  be,  to  a  natural  wild- 
ness.'  With  this  object,  there  has  been  thrown  up  an 
irregular  bank,  whereon  have  already  been  planted 
most  of  the  flowers  and  herbs  mentioned  by  Shake- 
speare in  his  writings ;  and  where,  it  is  hoped,  every 
species  known  in  his  time  will  eventually  find  a 
place. 

"In  doing  this  the  great  natural  philosopher's  pre- 
cepts have  been  faithfully  followed,  modified  by 


340      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

hints  derived  from  the  greater  poet.  'Some  thickets,' 
says  Bacon,  'I  would  have  made  only  in  sweetbriar 
(eglantine)  and  honeysuckle  (woodbine) ;  and  the 
ground  set  with  violets  and  primroses  (oxlips) ;  for 
these  be  sweet  and  prosper  in  the  shade/  This  has 
been  done:  and  with  wild  thyme — many  square 
yards  of  it — added,  and  also  musk-roses — a  few  pro- 
cured with  great  difficulty,  so  unaccountably 
neglected  are  they  in  our  too-pretentious  modern 
gardens — they  will  form  here,  in  effect,  Titania's 
Bower — 

"I  know  a  bank  whereon  the  wild  thyme  blows, 
Where  oxlips  and  the  nodding  violet  grows, 
Quite  over-canopied  with  luscious  woodbine, 
With  sweet  musk-roses  and  with  eglantine. 
There  sleeps  Titania  some  time  of  the  night, 
Lull'd  in  these  flowers,  with  dances  and  delight. 

"Bacon,  of  course,  often  witnessed  the  perform- 
ances of  Shakespeare's  plays  at  Court,  as  well  as 
in  the  public  theaters ;  and  reminiscent  echoes  of  that 
beautiful  passage  were  probably  ringing  in  his  ears 
when  he  penned  the  sentences  quoted  above. 

"With  passages  in  plays  other  than  The  Dream/ 
Bacon  has  also  parallels.  His  essay  happens  to  have 
been  published  exactly  twelve  months  after  the  pro- 
duction of  'A  Winter's  Tale'  at  Court,  and  in  his 


ELIZABETHAN  GARDEN  34 1 

somewhat  arid  enumeration  therein  of  the  seasonal 
succession  of  flowering  plants,  we  seem  to  hear  echoes 
of  those  exquisite  verses  in  Peredita's  speeches — the 
most  beautiful  expression  of  the  intimate  love  of 
flowers  in  all  literature — 

".  .  .  Daffodils, 

That  come   before   the   swallow   dares,   and  take 
The  winds  of  March  with  beauty;  violets  dim, 
But  sweeter  than  the  lids  of  Juno's  eyes, 
Or  Cytherea's  breath;  pale  primroses, 
That  die  unmarried  ere  they  can  behold 
Bright  Phoebus  in  his  strength. 

"  'For  March/  writes  Bacon,  'there  come  violets, 
especially  the  single  blue,  which  are  the  earliest  .  .  . 
and  which,  above  all  other  flowers,  yields  the  sweet- 
est smell  in  the  air;  also  the  yellow  daffodil.'  'Lilies 
of  all  sorts,  the  flowre-de-luce  being  one,'  says  Per- 
dita.  'Flower-de-Luces,  and  lilies  of  all  natures,' 
echoes  Bacon. 

"Near  the  Wild  Bank  later  on  there  may,  perhaps, 
be  planted  some  of  those  specimens  of  the  topiary 
art,  which  were  so  general  in  Jacobean  gardens. 
Even  Bacon  would  admit  them  into  his  'Princely 
Garden.'  'Little  low  hedges  (of  box  or  yew),'  he 
writes,  'round  like  welts,  with  some  pretty  pyramids, 
I  like  well,  and  in  some  places  fair  columns.'  But  he 


342      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

would  confine  them  to  geometric  patterns:  1,  for 
my  part,  do  not  like  images  cut  out  in  juniper  or 
other  garden  stuff,  they  be  for  children.'  But  then 
Shakespeare  had  children  and  grandchildren;  and, 
besides,  many  children  of  the  present  day  will  visit 
his  garden,  much  taken,  we  may  be  sure,  with  such 
curious  devices,  and  delighting  in  our  simple  sweet 
old  English  flowers — very  few  of  them,  it  is  to 
be  hoped,  serious  little  prigs,  bursting  with 
botany.  .  .  . 


THE  "KNOTT  GARDEN" 


"It  is  now  necessary  to  say  a  few  words  about  the 
'Knott  Garden' — an  enclosure  which,  being  an  in- 
variable adjunct  to  every  house  of  importance  in 
Shakespeare's  time,  is  the  most  essential  part  of  the 
reconstruction,  on  Elizabethan  lines,  of  the  ground 
about  New  Place.  It  need  not,  however,  engage  us 
long :  for  M.  Forestier's  beautiful  drawing  of  it  rep- 
resents it  as  it  is  to  be,  better  than  any  amount  of 
wordy  description. 

"The  whole  is  closely  modeled  on  the  designs 
and  views  shown  in  the  contemporary  books  on 
gardening;  and  for  every  feature  there  is  unim- 
peachable warrant.  The  enclosing  palisade — a  very 
favorite  device  of  the  Jacobean  gardeners — of 


ELIZABETHAN  GARDEN  343 

Warwickshire  oak,  cleft,  is  exactly  copied  from  the 
one  in  the  famous  tapestry  of  the  'Seven  Deadly 
Sins'  at  Hampton  Court.  And  here  again  Bacon's 
advice  has  been  useful:  'The  garden  is  best  to  be 
square,  encompassed  on  all  four  sides  with  a  stately 
arched  hedge,  the  arches  on  pillars  of  carpenter's 
work,  of  some  10  foot  high,  and  6  foot  broad.'  The 
'tunnel,'  or  'pleached  bower,  where  honeysuckles, 
ripened  by  the  sun,  forbid  the  sun  to  enter' — follows 
ancient  models,  especially  the  one  shown  in  the  old 
contemporary  picture  in  New  Place  Museum. 

"The  dwarf  wall,  of  old-fashioned  bricks — hand- 
made, sun-dried,  sand-finished,  with  occasional 
'flarers,'  laid  in  the  Tudor  bond,  with  wide  mortar 
joints — is  based  on  similar  ones,  still  extant,  of  the 
period.  The  balustrade  is  identical,  in  its  smallest 
details,  with  one  figured  in  Didymus  Mountain's 
'Gardener's  Labyrinth,'  published  in  1,577 — a  book 
Shakespeare  must  certainly  have  consulted  when  lay- 
ing out  his  own  Knott  Garden.  The  paths  are  to  be 
of  old  stone  from  Wilmcote,  the  home  of  Shake- 
speare's mother.  The  intricate,  interlacing  patterns 
of  the  Knott  beds — 'the  Knottes  so  enknotted  it  c<m- 
not  be  expressed,'  as  Cavendish  says  of  Wolsey's 
garden — are  taken,  one  from  Mountain's  book;  two 
from  Gervase  Markham's  'Country  Housewife's 


344      THE  SHAKESPEARE  GARDEN 

Garden'  (1613);  and  one  from  William  Lawson's 
'New  Orchard  and  Garden'  (1618);  and  they  are 
composed,  as  enjoined  by  those  authorities,  of  box, 
thrift,  lavender-cotton,  and  thyme,  with  their  inter- 
spaces filled  in  with  flowers. 

ROYAL  ROSES  FOR  THE  KNOTTED  BEDS 

"In  one  point  the  Trustees  have  been  able  to  'go 
one  better'  than  Shakespeare  in  his  own  'curious 
knotted  garden' — to  use  his  own  expression  in 
'Love's  Labour's  Lost.'  For  neither  King  James,  nor 
his  Queen,  Anne  of  Denmark,  nor  Henry  Prince  of 
Wales  sent  him — so  far  as  we  know — any  flowers 
for  his  garden.  On  his  356th  birthday,  however, 
there  will  be  planted  four  old-fashioned  English 
rose-trees — one  in  the  center  of  each  of  the  four 
'knotted'  beds — from  King  George,  Queen  Mary, 
Queen  Alexandra,  and  the  Prince  of  Wales.  Surely 
Shakespeare,  could  he  have  known  it,  would  have 
been  touched  by  this  tribute! 

"They  will  be  planted  by  Lady  Fairfax-Lucy,  the 
heiress  of  Charlecote,  and  the  direct  lineal  descend- 
ant of  the  Sir  Thomas  Lucy  whose  deer  he  is  said 
to  have  poached,  and  who  is  supposed  to  have  had 
him  whipped  for  his  offense,  and  who  is  believed  to 


ELIZABETHAN  GARDEN  345 

be  satirized  in  the  character  of  'Justice  Shallow.' 
This  also  might  well  have  moved  him ! 

"Here,  in  the  restored  'Knott  Garden/  as  every- 
where in  the  grounds  about  New  Place,  flowers — 
Shakespeare's  Flowers — will  clothe  and  wreathe  and 
perfume  everything,  all  else  being  merely  devised  to 
set  them  off — musk- roses,  climbing- roses,  crab- 
apples,  wild  cherries,  clematis,  honeysuckle,  sweet- 
briar,  and  many  more. 

"By  next  year,  the  Trustees  expect  to  have  some 
200,000  individual  plants — including,  of  course,  the 
crocuses,  'bold  oxlips/  'nodding  violets/  'winking 
marybuds/  'pale  primroses/  and  'azured  harebells/ 
on  the  wild  bank  and  lawn — decking,  in  succession 
through  the  months,  the  ground  whereon  the  poet 
trod,  their  millions  of  blossoms,  with  every  breath  of 
air  doing  reverence,  waving  banners  of  gorgeous  hue, 
and  flinging  the  incense  of  their  delicious  fragrance 
in  homage  to  the  memory  of  William  Shakespeare." 


INDEX 


Absinthe,  246 

Acacia,  35 

Acanthus,  22 

Aconite,  199,  248,  249 

Aconitum  napellus,  248 

Adonis,  133 

Adonis  Flower,  136 

yEneas,  261 

Affectionate  Shepherd,  The,  49 

Albion,  148 

Aldine  Press,  15 

Aldrich,    Thomas    B.,    quoted, 

163-164 

Allen,  Grant,  quoted,  139-140 
All's    Well    That    Ends    Well, 

230,  237 
Alleys,  59-61 
Amadis,  de  Gaul,  4 
Amarakos,  238 
Amaranth,  22 
Amaryllis,  166 
Amiens,  257 
Anemone,   22,   36,  80,    133-136, 

303 
Anemone  purpurea  striata  stel- 

lata,  133 

Anglo-Saxons,  6 
Anglo-Saxons,  gardens  of,  6-7 
Annunciation    Lily,     165,     166, 

267 

Anne  Page,  243 
Anthemis   nobilis,  244 
Apothecary,  31 
Appius    and    Virginia,    quoted, 

234 

Aquilegia    vulgaris,    137 
Arbor,  20,  48-49,  281 
Arbors,  flowers  for,  82 


Arcadia,  quoted,  28 

Arches,  283 

Architects,  Elizabethan,  23 

Ariel,   101 

Arnold,    Matthew,   quoted,    189 

Artemis,  247 

Artemisia,  246 

Assur-wood,  265 

As  You  Like  It,  song  from,  257 

Attar  of  Rose,  159 

Auricula,  22 

Artichoke,   149 

Arum,  209 

Arum  masculata,  209 

Arviragus,   97 

Asphodels,    113,   166 

Autolycus,  109,  152 

B 

Babar,  garden  of,  19-20 

Babar,  quoted,  20 

Bacchus,  259 

Bachelor's  Buttons,  22,  83 

Bacon,  Francis,  35,  56,  125,  148, 

249 
Bacon,  Francis,  quoted,  44-45, 

55-56,   64-66,   285 
Bagh-i-Vafa,  19-20 
Banquetting-house,   63,  82 
Barnfield,  quoted,  49-50 
Basil,   14 

Bastard  Daffodils,  no 
Battle  of  Marathon,  236 
Bay,  Dwarf,  83 
Bay,  Red,  82 
Bay-Tree,   17 
Bear's  ears,  80,  100 
Bear's  foot,  62 
Beatrice,  49,  178 


347 


INDEX 


Beaufort  House,  21 

Beds,  20,  41,  42,  47-48 

Bee-plants,  240-243 

Bees,  240 

Belides,    119 

Bellis,    119 

Bellis   perennis,    118 

Benedick,  49,  178 

Ben  Jonson,  29,  136 

Ben  Jonson,  quoted,  249 

Bion,  quoted,  134 

Birds,  10,  64,  69,  75,  287-288 

Birds  Eyen,   107 

Blonde  of  Oxford,  4,  12 

Bloom,     quoted,     38-39,     208- 

Blue    Flowers,    139,    140,    198, 

250-252 
Blue  Helmet  Flower,  199,  250- 

252 

Blue  Pipe  Flower,  35 
Boar's  Head,  226 
Boccaccio,  16 
Borde,  Andrew,  287 
Border-plant,  245 
Borders,  9,  78,  295-297 
Botticelli,    93,   94,   219 
Bottom  the  Weaver,  148,  257 
Bowling  Alleys,  67,  74,  281 
Box,  264-266,  293,  297,  303 
Box-tree,  15 
Broom   (genesta),  22,  143-144, 

303 
Browne,  quoted,  47-48,  49,  122, 

136 

Browning,  236 
Buckingham  House,  21 
Burleigh,  Lord,  gardens  of,  27, 

Si,  33 
Burns,   121 

Buttercup,  132,  208,  232,  252 
Buxus  sempervirens,  264 


Calendula,  192 
Calendula  officinalis,  189 
Call-Me-to-You,   202 


Caltha,    192 

Camomile,  74,  295,  244-246,  303 
Campions,  83 
Cantabrigia  Illustrata,  301 
Canterbury  Bells,  131 
Cardamine  pratensis,   130 
Carew,  Thomas,  quoted,  98-99 
Carnations,   30,   35,   53,   84-85, 

181-189,    199,   298,  304-305 
Carol,   Boar's    Head,   226 
Carols,    255-256,    258 
Carraway,   14 
Cartha.einian  Apple,  218 
Cary,  Walter,  34 
Caryophyllus,   182 
Cecil,  Sir  Robert,  22 
Celandine,  Lesser,  132 
Century    Book   of    Gardening, 

302 

Cerberus,  249 
Ceres,  116,  218 
Chalcedonian  Lily,  162 
Chaucer,  12,  101,  119,  121,  181, 

191,  256 

Cheese  Bowl,  203 
Cher  feu,  179 
Chevre  feuille,   179 
Chives,  14 

Christmas,  225,  253-255 
Christmas  Carols,  255-256 
Christmas  Flower,  81 
Circe,  228 
Clematis,  49,  50,  82 
Clemence  Isaure,  127 
Clove  Gilliflower,  181 
Clover,  18 
Clovis,    174 
Clown,  237,  264 
Clyte,    194 

Colin  Clout,  quoted,  191 
Colonna,  Francesco,  16 
Colors,  flower,  42-43,  139-140 
Colors,     blending     of,     42-43, 

46-48 
Columbine,  14,  18,  84,  137-143, 

232,  252,   305 

Complete  Gardener,  The,  303 
Conduits  of  Water,  10 


INDEX 


349 


Conserves,     flower,     125,     153, 

187,  192,  226 

Cook,  E.  T.,  quoted,  320-321 
Cookery,    flowers    in,    14,    210, 

235,  237,  241 
Cordials,  187,  192 
Cornflowers,  22 
Corona  Imperialis,  70 
Corn  Rose,  203 
Countess   of   Bedford,   Garden 

of,  56-59 
Country     Farm,     quoted,     68, 

69-72 

Cowdry,  23 
Cowslips,  22,  62,  73,  83,  99-100, 

101-107,  306 

Cowslip  of  Jerusalem,  14 
Crispin  de  Passe,  301 
Crocus,  79,   166,  306 
Crow-bells,  209 

Crow-flowers,  132,  207-209,  307 
Crowfoot,   82,  209 
Crowfoot,  winter,  81 
Crown    Imperial,    36,   79,    167- 

172,  307 

Crown  of   Thorns,   154 
Cuckoo-buds,  132,  214 
Cuckoo-flowers,   131,  132,  213- 

214,  308 

Cuckoo-pint,  209,  214 
Cuckoo-pintle,  209 
Cuddle-Me-to-You,  202 
Cuirs,  41,  290 
Cupid,  159 
Cupid's  Flower,  202 
Cyclamen,  81 

Cymbeline,  98,  104,  136,  190 
Cytissus  scoparius,   142 


Daffodil,       Daffodils,       78-79, 

109-118,  308 

Daffodil  (Pastoral),  113-115 
Daffy-down-dilly,  113,  296 
Daisy.     Daisies,   7,    14,   22,  62, 

84,  118-122,  207,  308 


Damask   Rose,    146,    147,    152- 

153 

Dame  Quickly,  102 
Dandelions,  10 
Deceased       Maiden's       Lover, 

quoted,  208 
Delphinium,   197 
De  Nature  Rerum,  7 
Dial,  73-     See  Sun-dials 
Diana,   160,   167,  247 
Diana's  Bud,  246-248,  309 
Dianthus,    181 

Dianthus   Caryophyllus,    181 
Dickens,  quoted,  259 
Didymus  Mountain,  34,  68,  300 
Didymus      Mountain,      quoted, 

193-194,   278-280 
Dobell,  Sydney,  quoted,  103 
Dog  Rose,  321 
Don  Armado,  138 
Don  Juan,  153 
Door  in  Wall,  9,  13,  40 
Dove-cote,  287 
Dove-plant,  138 
Drayton,  Michael,  quoted,  113- 

115,  201 

Drosidae,    165-167 
Druids,  261 
Dryden,  quoted,  121 
Duke,    123 

Duke  of  Burgundy,  103 
Duke  of  York,  230 
Dumain,  138 


Edging,  297,  299 
Edward  III.,  174 
Eglantine,  49,  50,  74,  150-151, 

178,  321 

Egyptians,  134,  164,  172,  213 
Elements  of  Architecture,  47 
Elizabeth.      See    Queen   Eliza- 
beth 

Elizabeth  of  Bohemia,  47 
Elizabethan  estates,  276 
Elizabethan  housewife,  53-55 
Eliza,  Queen  of  the  Shepherds, 

22 


350 


INDEX 


Ellacombe,  quoted,   182-183 
Elves,  243 

Ely  Place,  gardens  of,   155 
Elysian    Fields,    113,    116,    166, 

172 

Endive,  14 

English    flowers,    83-85 
Enna,  Fields  of,  129 
Eros,    159 
Essay  on  Gardening   (Bacon), 

Euphues     and     His     England, 

quoted,  30,  245 
Europa,    129 
Exeter  Book,  quoted,  6 


Fair  Maid  of  France,  214 

Fair  Maid  of  Kent,  184 

Fairies,  45,  101.     See  Elves 

Fairy   Cups,   101 

Fairy    Flowers,    175,   239 

Falernian  wine,  160 

Falls,  172 

Falstaff,  51,   102,  201,  234,  244 

Fancy  Flamey,  201 

Fanshaw,    Sir    Henry,    garden 

of,  47 

Fennel,  9,  14,  137,  234-236,  309 
Fern.     Ferns,  175-177,  309 
Fern-seed,  175-177 
Fidele,  97,  9?,  i3<k 
Fiori  di  ogni  mesr,  192 
Fitzherbert,  34 
Five  Points  of  Good  Husban- 

,     dry,  34 
Flag,  81,  173,  310 
Flemish   Painters,  Gardens  of, 

18 

Fletcher,  John,  108,  120 
Fleur-de-lis,  166,  167,  173-174 
Floramour,  82 
Floral  Games,  127 
Flore  et  Blancheflore,  4 
Flor  di  prima  vera,  93,  94,  101 
Flor  di  prima  vera,  gentile,  122 
Flos  Adonis,   136 


Flos  Africanus,  196 
Flos   Sanguineus,   199 
Flower  of  Africa,   196 
Flower  of  Ajax,  197 
Flower  of  Bristow,  83 
Flower  fanciers,  33-37 
Flower-gentile,  82 
Flower    de    luce,    81,    172-174, 

309-310 

Flower-of-the-Sun,  82,  213 
Flower  of  Tunis,  196 
Flowers,  71-72,  296-297 
Flowers,  Anglo-Saxon,  7 
Flowers,  Care  of,  37-38 
Flowers,  Colors  of,  42-43,  139- 

140 

Flowers,  Church,  18 
Flowers  for  decoration,  52 
Flowers,  English,  83-85 
Flowers,   Fad   for,  24-25 
Flowers,      Fifteenth     Century, 

14 

Flowers,  funeral,  224,  225 
Flowers,  love  of,  6 
Flowers,  Mediaeval,  10,  14 
Flowers,   Medicinal,  8,    14,   31, 
46,    53-55,    ioo,    125,    153, 
156,  179,  187,  192,  226,  228, 
229-230,  231,  235,  241,  244, 
246,  247 

Flowers,  Norman,  7 
Flowers,  perfumes  of,  43 
Flowers,  outlandish,  24,  32,  78- 

83 

Flowers,  seasonable,  64-68 
Flowers,  Tudor,  22 
Flowers,  wedding,  221,  225 
Flowers,  in  wine,  129,  181,  248 
Foeniculum  vulgare,  234 
Forest  of  Arden,  256 
Forthrights,  41,  42,  86 
Fountain  of  Love,  10 
Fountains,  42,  63,  285-287 
Franklyn's  Tale,  quoted,  12 
Frantic  Foolish  Cowslip,  107 
French  cowslip,  80 
French  marigold,   196 
Freya,   130,  261 


INDEX 


351 


Friar,  225 
Friar's    Cowl,    209 
Fritillaria  imperialis,  167 
Fruits,  8,  9,  21,  65,  73 
Fruit-trees,  21 


Gadshill,  175 

Garden,  Babar's,  19 

Garden  books,  35 

Garden,  Burleigh's,  34 

Garden,  Countess  of  Bed- 
ford's, 56-59 

Garden,   Curious   Knotted,  41 

Garden  of  Delight,  3-5,  8-10, 
168,  199 

Garden  of  Eden,  222 

Garden,  Earl  of  Salisbury's,  35 

Garden,  Elizabethan,  23-29,  31, 
40-52,  86,  88-89 

Garden,  Sir  Henry  Fanshaw's, 

47 

Garden  of  Fidelity,  19,  20 
Garden,      Fifteenth      Century, 

15-18 

Garden,  Gerard's,  34 
Garden,  Hackney,  35-36 
Garden,    Hampton   Court   Pal- 
ace,   274 

Garden,  Henry  VIII.'s,  20,  21 
Garden,  Hatfield,  35 
Garden,   Havering -atte- Bower, 

26 

Garden,  Herb,  72 
Garden,  House,  281 
Garden,     Italian     Renaissance, 

15-18 

Garden,  Kenilworth,  275 
Garden,  Kitchen,  31 
Garden,  lay-out      (small),     41, 

70,   277 
Garden,  lay-out     (stately),    41 

70,  271-276 
Garden,  Long  Acre,  garden  at, 

32 

Garden,  Mediaeval,  11-13 
Gardea   Moor  Park,  56-59 


Garden,  Nosegay,  71 

Garden,  Novelties,  20 

Garden,  Parkinson's,  32 

Garden,  pleasant  Blowers,  31 

Garden,  pleasures,  29 

Garden,  Small,  3-5 

Garden,  Terraced,  276 

Garden,  Theobald's,  27,  34,  39, 


5i,  3oi 
rden,  Tuggie's,  35 


Gan 

Garden,  Uses  of,  52 
Garden,  Wolsey's,  20 
Garden,  Zouche's,  35-36 
Gardens,  Anglo-Saxon,  6-7 
Gardens,  Burleigh's,  27,  33,  34, 

39,  5i,  30i 

Gardens,    Flemish   painters,    18 
Gardens,  Indian,  18 
Gardens,  Italian  painters,  18 
Gardens,  Ladies  in,  13,  14 
Gardens,  Lay-out  of,  76-77 
Gardens,  Locked,  13 
Gardens,  Mogul  Emperors,  18- 

19 
Gardens,  Nonsuch    Palace,    21, 

273-274 

Gardens,  Norman,  7 
Gardens,     Rennaissance     influ- 
ence, 3&-39 
Gardens,  Roman,  6 
Gardens,  Sixteenth  Century,  20 
Gardens,  Tudor,  21,  23-29 
Garlands.     See  Wreaths 
Garofalo,  II,   187 
Garth,  6-7 

Gaskell,  Mrs.,  quoted,  149 
Gate,  40,  280 
Gazebo,  281 
Gentlemen's  Magazine,  quoted, 

88-89 

Gerade.     See  Gerard 
Gerard,  33-34,  5*.  IOO»  l62»  2l8, 

248 

Gerard,  Garden  of,  34 
Gerard,   quoted,    128,   133,    168, 

187,   201,   230,    231 
George  Gisze,  53 
Germander,  62,  78 


352 


INDEX 


Gethsemane,  Garden  of,  170 
Giardino  segreto,  15 
Gilliflowers,   7,  21,  22,  30,  35, 

83,    84,    184,    186-187,    199, 

296 

Gilliflowers,  names  of,  184 
Gladiolus,  166 
Golden  Apple,  219,  221 
Golden  Bough,  261 
Gold  Flower,  191,  192 
Golds,  14 

Gardener,  business,  66-67 
Gardener's    Labyrinth,    quoted, 

34,    193-194,    27^-280,    295, 

299,  300 

Gosse,  Edmund,  quoted,  156 
Googe,  Barnaby,  35 
Great  Harwich,  184,  185 
Greek  myths,  97,  115,  119,  129, 

130,  134,  164,  174,  194,  213, 

2I8-2I9,    221,   228,    234,    238, 

259,  264 

Crete  Herbal,  34 
Guillaume  de  Lorris,  8 
Guirlande  de  Julie,   171 
Gunpowder,  249 
Gustayus  Adolphus,  171 
Grumio,  51 
Gyllofre.    See  Gilliflowers 

H 

Hackney,  garden  at,  35~36 

Haggard,  Rider,  quoted,  135- 
136 

Hakluyt,  quoted,   149,   152 

Hamlet,   119,   137,  207 

Hampton  Court  Palace,  20,  51 

Hampton  Court  Palace,  gar- 
dens, 274 

Hampton  Court  Palace,  Foun- 
tain, 286 

Hampton  Court  Palace, 
Mount,  282 

Handful  of  Pleasant  Delights, 
quoted,  127-128,  225,  232 

Hanging  Gardens  of  Baby- 
lon, 5 


Harebell,  136-137,  207,  266,  310 
Harleian  Mss.,   n 
Harpocrates,  159 
Harrison,   William,  quoted,  24 
Hatfield,  garden,  35-36 
Hathaway,  Ann,  3 
Havering-atte-Bower,      garden, 

26 

Heartsease,   84,   202 
Heath,  59,  62 
Hebrews,  164 
Hecate,  249 
Hedera  Helix,  257 
Hedges,  40,  59,  63,  77,  293 
Helena,  98 
Heliotrope,  194 
Henry  II.,  7 
Henry  V.,  103 
Henry    VIII.,    garden,    20,    21, 

274 
Hentzner,  Paul,  quoted,  27-28, 

285-287 
Hepatica,  81 
Hercules,  249 
Herrick,  quoted,  265-266 
Herba  leonis,  139 
Herba  Marguerita,  122 
Herba  Sanctae  Mariae,  234 
Herb  of  Grace,  48,  229-230,  237 
Herb  garden,  72 
Herb  Trinity,  201 
Herbal,  Gerard's,  34-35 
Herbal,  Great,  26 
Herbals,  25-26 
Herbals,  List  of,  34-35 
Herbs,  14,  22,  46,  52,  72 
Herbs,  farsing,  241 
Herbs,  pot,  7 
Herbs,  medicinal,  8 
Herbstrewer,  52 
Hermia,  98 
Hero,  49,  178 
Hill,  Thomas,  34,  68 
Holbein,  53 

Hole,  Dean,  quoted,  151 
Holly,  253-257,  311 
Holly,  song,  257 
Hollyhock,  22,  85 


INDEX 


353 


Homer,  228 

Honey    of    Mount    Hymettus, 

240 
Honeysuckle,  7,  49,  50,  82,  293, 

3ii 

Hood,  quoted,  158 
Horse-blobs,   132 
Hortorum        Viridariorumque, 

301 

Hortus  Floridus,  301 
Hulfeere,   256 
Hungary  water,  226 
Huon  of  Bordeaux,  4 
Hyacinth,  79,  136,  166 
Hybla,  240 
Hymen,  213 
Hypernotomachia,  15 
Hyssop,  78 


Italian  painters,  gardens  of,  18 
Ilex  aquifolium,  253 
Imogen,  98,  136 
Importation  of  flowers,  24-25 
Iris,  22,  172,  309-310 
Iris  pseudacorus,  172 
Ironmongers,  Worshipful  Com- 

oany  of,  37 
Isaiah,  quoted,  265 
Ivy,   255-256.  257-260,  311 
Ivy  Green,  The,  259-260 


Jabberwocky,  289 

Jachimo,   104 

Jacinth,  136 

Jack-an-Apes  -  on  -  Horseback, 

84,  107 

Jack-in-the- Pulpit,  209,  315 
James  I.,  51 

ami,  quoted,   159 

ars,  41,  284-285 

asmine,  22,  82 

essica,  86 

esus  Christ,  legend,  171 

ews,  217 


Joan's   Silver  Pin,  203 
John  de  Garlande,  quoted,  8 
Johnny-Jump-Ups,     200,     201, 

203 
Johnson's    Gardeners    Diction- 

ary,  302 
Jonquil,  115 
Juliet,  86,  215 

'uly  flowers,  187,  189 

"uno's  Rose,  162 

unquilia,  no 

upiter,  160 


Kate  Greenaway,  40 
Katharine  of  Arragon,  218 
Keeler,     Harriet     L.,     quoted, 

140-141 

Kenilworth,  29 

Kenilworth,  garden  of,  39,  275 
Keats,  quoted,  148,  196 
Kingcups,  132 
King  Eteocles,  219 
King  Henry  IV.,  175,  234,  244, 

248 

King  H'enry  VI.,  155,  174 
King  John,  123 
King  Lear,  213 
King  Richard  II.,  230 
Kiss-Me-at-the-Garden  -  Gate, 

202 

Kiss-Me-Quick,  202 
Knight's  Spur,  197 
Knots,  20,  41,  46,  63,  78,  298- 

301 
Knotted   Garden,   Curious,  41 


Labyrinth,  41,  51 

Ladies,  skill  in  cookery,  14 

Ladies,  skill  in  simples,  14 

Lady's  Bower,  49,  82 

Lady-Smocks,  130-133,  214,  311 

Laertes,  234 

Lamb,  Charles,  quoted,  288 

Landor,    quoted,    179 


354 


INDEX 


Laneham,  Robert,  quoted,  275 

Lark's  claws,  197 

Lark's  heels,  84,  197 

Larkspur,  81,  197-200,  252,  312 

Lark's  toes,  197 

Lavender,  22,  231-233,  237,  312 

Lavender  Spica,  231 

Law,  Ernest,  quoted,  274,  338- 

345 

Lawson,  William,  35,  73 
Lawson,  William,  quoted,  245, 

296,  297,  299-300 
Leate,  Nicholas,  33,  36,  37 
Lee,  Vernon,  quoted,  15-18 
Leicester,  Earl  of,  29,  275 
Leminius,  Dr.,  quoted,  52-53 
Lent  Lily,  115 
Lete,  Nicholas.     See  Leate 
Levant  Company,  36 
Lewis  Carroll,  287 
Lfcbault,  John,  68 
Lilac,  35 
Lily.    Lilies,  7,  8,  14,  18,  22,  78, 

79,   160-167 

Lily,   Annunication,   313-315 
Lily  Conally,  22,  71,  161,  314 
Lily,  Lent,  115 
Lily  Madonna,   165,   167 
Lily    Martagon,    36,    79,    162- 

163 

Lily,  Scarlet  Martagon,  162 
Lily  Tiger,  163 
Lily-of-the-Valley,  22,  71,  161, 

314 

Lilium  album,  162 
Lilium  candidum,   161 
Lilium  conyallium,  62 
Lilium  Perticum,  170 
Liverwort,  81 
Lobel,  Mathias  de,  36 
Lobelia,  36 
Locker-Lampson,  46 
Locker-Lampson,  quoted,  181 
Loggan,  David,  301 
London  Pride,  188,  189,  298 
London  Tufts,  189 
Long  Acre,  garden  at,  32 
Long  Purples,  207,  209-210,  315 


Longueville,  138 
Love-in-idleness,  200,  202,  247 
Love's  Labour's  Lost,  41,   118, 

133,  145 

Lords-and-Ladies,  209,  210 
Lorenzo,  86 
Louis  VII.,  174 
Lucrece,  118 
Luini,  141 
Lupton,  quoted,  190 

chnis    bios  cuculi,  213 
Lyly,   John,   quoted,   30,   245 
Lyte,  quoted,  100,  190,  226 


M 


Madame  Plantier,  320 
Madonna    of    the    Melagrana, 

219 

Madonna  of  the  Rose,  160 
Madonna   of   the   Rose    Bush, 

160 
Madonna  of  the  Rose  Garden, 

160 
Madonna  of  the  Rose  Hedge, 

160 

Madonna  Lily,  165,  167 
Maiden's    Blush,   320 
Maison  Rustique,  La,  68 
Mallows,  14 
Malvolio,  86,  264 
Marathon,  235 
Margaret  of  Orleans,  195 
Marguerite,  121,  122 
Margueritons,  122 
Maria,  86,  264 
Marigold.    Marigolds,  7,  8,  22, 

82-84,   189-196,  315-316 
Marina,  124 

Marjoram,  14,  22,  236-239,  316 
Markham,  Gervase,  68,  69 
Markham,  Gervase,  quoted,  50, 

299 

Marshall,  William,  34 
Martagon  Lily,  36,  162-163 
Martagons,  79 
Marvel  of  Peru,  35,  82 
Mary-buds,  190 


INDEX 


355 


Maske  of  Flowers,  325~330 

Maudelyn,  121 

Maudlin,  121 

Mausoleum  of  Artemisia,  248 

May  flower,  131 

May  Lady,  masque  of,  23 

May  weed,  136 

Mazes,  41,  50-51,  74,  300 

Meadow  cress,  131 

Measure  for  Measure,  220 

Meet  -  Me  -  at  -  the  -  Garden-Gate, 

202 

Melissa  officinalis,  243 
Menthe,  234 

Menthe  de  Notre  Dame,  234 
Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,  102, 

.,     '74,  243 

Mezenon,  64,  03 

Middleton  and  Rowley,  quoted, 

191 

Midsummer  Daisy,  121 
Midsummer     Night,     175-176, 

200 
Midsummer     Night's     Dream, 

98,  101,  102,  108,  247,  257 
Milton,  201,  237 
Milton,  quoted,  98,  120 
Mint.    Mints,  9,  14,  22,  233-236, 

317 

Mistletoe,  261-264 
Mistletoe  Bough,  261,  262 
Mistress  Ford,  103 
Mogul   Emperors,  gardens  of, 

18-19 

Mohammed,   115 
Mohammedans,  quotation  from, 

129 

Moly,  228 
Monk's  Cane,  250 
Monk's    hood,    197,    199,    232, 

248-252,  317 
Montacute,  281 

Montacute,  lay-out  of,  272-273 
Montausier,  Due  de,  171 
Moon,  160 
Moon  daisy,  121 
Moor  Park,  garden  at,  56-59 
More  the  Merrier,  quoted,  245 


More,  Sir  Thomas,  quoted,  21, 

48,  224 

Mort  de  Gann,  La,  12 
Mounts,  20,  73,  282 
Much  Ado  About  Nothing,  153, 

178 

Mugwort,    248 
Musk  Rose,  44,  45,  73,  148-150, 

320 

Myrtle,   160,  219-223 
Myrtus  latifolia,  219 

N 

Narcissus,  22,  115 

Narcissus     pseudo     narcissus, 

109 

Nash,  259 
Nasturtium,  81,  318 
Nasturtium  Indicum,  199 
Neckan,  Alexander,  quoted,  78 
Nettle  red,   14 
Nettles,  207 

New  Orchard  and  Garden,  35 
New     Orchard     and     Garden, 

quoted,  72-73,  75,  245 
Noisette,  321 
Nonesuch,  83 
Nonesuch  Palace,  fountain  at, 

286 
Nonesuch  Palace,  gardens  of, 

21,  39 
Nonesuch    Palace,    lay-out   of, 

273-274 

Nonesuch  orange  color,  32 
Nosegay,  43,  128,  199,  232,  236 
Nosegay  garden,  71 
Norman  Castle,  183 
Norman  Kings,  gardens  of,  7 


Oberon,  45,  175,  200,  247 
Oceanides,  174 
CEdipus  Coloneus,  116 
Oleander,  82 

Olivia,  garden  of,  86,  264 
Ophelia,  119,  121,  124,  137,  200, 
207,  208,  214,  224,  230  234 


356 


INDEX 


Orange-trees  20 

Orchard,  8,  31,  51,  73,  74,  75 

Order  of  Genest,  144 

Orchis  mascula,  209 

Orris  root,  81,  173 

Ort-garth,  6 

Orto,  16 

Othello,  203 

Our  Lady's  flowers,  130 

Outlandish  flowers,  24,  32,  78- 

83 

Ovid,  quoted,  250 
Ox-eye   daisy,   121 
Oxlip.     Oxlips,  107-108,  318 
Oxonia  Illustrata,  301 


Paestum,  159 

Palsieworts,  107 

Pansy,  names  of,  202 

Pansy.  Pansies,  22,  84,  200- 
203,  298,  318 

Papaver  somniferum,  203 

Paquerette,  121,  122 

Paradisi  in  Sole,  32,  35,  83 

Pasque  flowers,  135 

Paralyses,  99 

Paralysis  vulgare  pratensis,  101 

Paris,  219,  221 

Parkinson,  John,  31,  32,  35,  75, 
151,  156,  196 

Parkinson,  garden  of,  32-33 

Parkinson,  quoted,  38,  75-78, 
80,  81,  82-83,  84-85,  99-100, 
106-107,  109-111,  121-122, 
134-135,  137,  138,  146-147, 
149-150,  150-151,  152-153, 
161,  162-163,  168-170,  173, 
183,  185,  186,  186-187,  188, 
192-193,  197-198,  199,  203, 

211,  214,  215-216,  220,  227, 
229,  231-232,  235,  238,  240- 
241,  242,  243-244,  245-246, 

250-252,  321 
Parsley,  14 
Paths,  9,  294 


Peacock,  288 

Pensee,  200 

Penshurst,  292 

Pensioners,  102 

Peony.     Peonies,  22,  85 

Peony,  Roman,   14 

Perdita,  3,  72,  86,  98,  108,  in, 

129,    160,    162,     167,     168, 

172,  181,  190,  225,  231,  233, 

237,  242 
Perennials,  46 
Perfume,   43,    44,    45,   46,    153, 

231,    232,    239,    244.      See 

Scent. 

Pericles,  124 
Periwinkle,  7,  22,  62 
Persian  Lily,  170 
Peruvian  Sunflower,  196 
Petruchio,  52 
Petty  Mullins,  107 
Pheasant's  Eye,  117 
Pheidippides,  236 
Phoradendron,  263 
Phosphorescent  flowers,  199 
Pickwick  Papers,  259 
Picotee,  182 

Pink.     Pinks,  18,  85,  187-189 
Pinks,  names  of,  188 
Pink  of  My  John,  202 
Pinkster,  187 
Pipe  tree,  82 
Plantagenesta,  143-144 
Plantagenets,  The,  144 
Plashing,  50 
Pleached  alley,  50,  292 
Pleaching,  50 
Pleasance,  4,  n 
Pliny,    134,    148,    176,    181,  218, 

234,  259 

Pliny,  garden  of,  6 
Pliny,  quoted,  234-235 
Pluto,  218,  234,  249,  264 
Poet's    Hyacinth,    197 
Port's   Narcissus,   117-118 
Poison,  249-250 
Polyanthus,   107 
Pomegranate,  35,  215-219,  319 
Pomegranate-trees,  20 


INDEX 


357 


Poppy.      Poppies,    14,    22,    84, 

203-206,  319 
Portia,  87 
Potpourri,  156,  324 
Prickly  Coral  Tree,  83 
Primerolles,  101 
Primevera,  93 
Primrose.      Primroses,   21,   22, 

30,  62,  73,  83,  93-101,  319 
Primula  eliator,  107 
Primula  veris,  122 
Primula  vulgaris,  93 
Prior,   Dr.,  quoted,   100-101 
Proserpine,  116,   123,  129,  218, 

234 

Prospero,  268 
Pseudo  narcissus,  no 
Pteris  aquilina,  175 
Puck,  101,  144,  200,  247 
Pulsatillas,  135 
Punica,  215,  218 
Pyracantha,  77,  83 


Queen  Elizabeth,  22,  102 
Queen    Elizabeth,   gardens   of, 
26 


Ragged  Robin,  214,  208 
Rails  for  beds,  20 
Rambouillet,  Julie  de,  171 
Ranunculus,    17,    82,    198,    208, 

266 

Rape  of  Lucrece,  118,  191 
Rapin,    quoted,    119,    221,    224- 

228,  238-239 

Renaissance,  Influence  on  Eng- 
lish Gardens,  3?-39 
Richard  Coeur  de  Lion,  quoted, 

12 

Richmond  Green,  245 
Richmond   Palace,  Garden  of, 

26 

Rimmon,  217 
Rocket,  22 


Rock-garden,  302 

Roman  de  Berte,  12 

Roman  de  la  Rose,  4,  8-9,   19 

Romans,  4-13 

Romaunt  of  the  Rose,  4,  8-9, 

19 

Romeo,  86,  248 
Romeo  and  Juliet,  31,  225,  248 
Rosarubie,  136 
Rosa  alba,  147-148 
Rosa  Anglica  alba,  147 
Rosa  Anglica  rubra,   146 
Rosa  canina,  153 
Rosa  centifolia,  151,  159 
Rosa  damascene,  152 
Rosa  eglanteria,    150 
Rosa  Junonis,  162 
Rosa  Moschata,  148 
Rosa  versicolor,   154 
Rosary,  160 

Rose.  Roses,  7,  8,  10,  14,  18,  21, 
22,  30,  49,  50,  73,  78,  145- 
160,  293,  319-322 
Rose  canker,  153 
Rose,    damask,    146,    147,    152- 

153,  160,  297 
Rose,  dog,  153 
Rose,  Hundred  Leaf,  151-152 
Rose,  musk,  44,  45,  73,  148-150, 

320 

Rose,  Provencal,   151-152 
Rose,   red,   146-147 

white,  147-148,  160 

variegated,    154-^55 

yellow,   156 

yellow,   double,  37 

York  and  Lancaster,  154-155 
Rose  of  Sharon,  115 
Rose-water,  156,  159 
Rosemarinus  officinalis,  224 
Rosemary,    14,   22,   48,   72,   74, 

241,    322 

Roxburgh  Ballad,  quoted,  222 
Rue,  14,  72,  225-228,  322 
Rushes,  52 
Ruskin,    quoted,    158,    165-167, 

203-204 
Ruta  graveolus,  228 


358 


INDEX 


Sable  Flag,  35 

Sable  Flower,  81 

Saffron,  14,  210 

Saffron  Crocus,  210 

Saffron  flowers,  79 

Saffron  Hill,  212 

Saffron  lily,  115 

Saffron  Walden,  212 

Sage,  14 

Salads,  237 

Salisbury,  Earl  of,  garden  of, 

35 

Sappho,  157 

Satureia,  242 

Saturnalia,  253 

Savory,  237,  242,  322 

Scent,  72,  55,  106,  108,  124,  125, 
126,  128,  153,  156,  159,  161, 
193,  199,  227,  232,  237,  239, 
241,  245,  264.  See  Per- 
fume 

Scilla  nutans,  136,  207 

Seats,  garden,  284 

Seeds,  67-68,  278-279 

Sejanus,  249 

Semele,  259 

Serving-man's  Joy,  230 

Seven  Gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
18,  142 

Shallow,  51 

Shakespeare,  3,  33,  41,  43,  80, 
94,  98,  101,  103,  104,  109, 
in,  118,  123,  124,  125,  132, 
133,  143,  145,  148,  153,  157, 
162,  172,  174,  178,  203,  207- 
208,  215,  219,  230,  248,  256, 
257,  264 

Shakespeare,  quoted,  44,  45,  49, 
51,  97,  98,  101,  103,  108, 

IO9,    III,    Il8,    I2O,    122,    123, 
124,    125,    126,   129,    131,    132, 

135,  136,  137,  143,  145,  155, 
161,  174,  175,  178,  190,  191, 
207,  225,  230,  231,  237,  239, 
244,  247,  257,  258 
Shelley,  quoted,  124,  158,  161 


Shepherd's  Calendar,  181,  182 

Sidney,  Philip,  23 

Sidney,  Philip,  quoted,  28 

Simples,  14 

Sir  Andrew  Aguecheek,  86,  264 

Sir  Toby  Belch,  86,  264 

Sir  John  Lubbock,  139 

Skeat,  1 06 

Smilax,  213 

Snapdragon.    Snapdragons,  22, 

84 

Soil,   278 

Solomon,  quoted,  18 
Sonnet,  XCIX,  125,  237 
Sonnet,  LIV,  157 
Sops-in-Wine,  30,  182,  183 
Sops-in-Wine,  yellow,  36 
Sophocles,  quoted,   116 
Sorcery,       plants       associated 

with,     176,    177,    179,    228, 

247 

Sowbread.  81 
Spanish  Gipsy,  191 
Spenser,  Edmund,  48,  143,  224 
Spenser,   Edmund,  quoted,  22- 

23,  50,   181-182,   191 
Sphinx,  172 
Spinks,  131 
Sports,  37 
St.  Barnabas,  214 
St.  Catharine,  219 
St.  Clotilde,  174 
St.    Dominick,    160 
St.   Francis    de   Sales,  quoted, 

126,  194 

St.  John  the  Baptist,  176,  267 
St.  John's  Eve,  175 
Stage-Setting,  elaborate,  327 
Star  of  Bethlehem,  166 
Stevens,  Charles,  68 
Still-room,  54 
Stock    gilliflowers,    22 
Strand,  gardens  in,  33 
Strawberry.     Strawberries,   18, 

62 

Strawberry  leaves,  44 
Strewing,  52 
Strewing-plants,  225,  233 


INDEX 


359 


Summer's  Last  Will  and  Tes- 
tament, 259 

Sun-dials,  21,  274,  286,  288-289, 
292 

Sun-flower,  7,  196 

Sun,  flowers  associated  with, 
190,  226,  230, 

Surflet,  Richard,  68,  226 

Sweet  Balm,  243-244,  323 

Sweetbrier,  62,  150-151,  321 

Sweet  Johns,  30,  85,  188,  189 

Sweet  Marjoram,  238 

Sweet-williams,  21,  22,  62,  85, 
188,  189,  298,  323 

Sylva,  249 

Symbolism,  19 

Symbols,  floral,  18,  19 

Syringa,  82 


Taming  of  the  Shrew,  52 

Tamora,  264 

Tempest,  144,  258 

Temple  garden,  155 

Temple,    Sir    William,    quoted, 

56-59 

Tennyson,  quoted,  103,  209 
Terrace,  39,  4<>,  272-273,  289- 

292 
Thaxter,    Celia,    quoted,    180, 

204-206 
Theobald's   garden,   27,  33,   39 

5i,  301 
Thomas,    H.    H.,    quoted,   278, 

282-284,  294,  295,  315 
Thornbury,  quoted,  53-55 
Thorpe,  John,  23 
Three -Faces -Under- a- Hood, 

201 

Thrift,  78,  295,  298 
Thyme,    14,   45,   62,   233,   239- 

241,  295,  323 
Thymus  serpyllum,  239 
Tiger  lilies,  163 
Tisio,  Benvenuto,  187 
Titania,  45,  49,    101,   102,   108, 

123,  148,  178,  200,  239,  247, 

257 


Titus  Andronicus  264 
Tools,  gardener's,  8 
Topiary  work,  15,  39,  48 
Tradescant,  John,  35,  no,  216 
Traveris,  Peter,  34 
Tricolor,  201 
Trinity  (clover),  18 
Trouveres,  3,  n 
Twelfth  Night,  44,  86,  123 
Two  Noble  Kinsmen,  94,   108, 

120,  197,  239 
Tubs,  284-285 
Tudor  mansions,  23 
Tuggie,  Mistress,  35 
Tuggie,  Ralph,  33,  35 
Tuggie,  Ralph,  gardens  of,  184 
Tuggie,  carnation   named   for, 

184 

Tuggy.    See  Tuggie 
Tulips,  80 
Turkey  cocks,  149 
Turk's  Cap,  36,  162 
Turner,     William,     Dean     of 

Wells,  26,  34 
Turner,  William,  quoted,   176- 

177,  250 

Tusser,  Thomas,  34 
Tusser,   Thomas,   quoted,    100, 

2ii,  258 
Tussie  Mussie,  43,  199 


U 

Ulysses,  228 

Underworld,  116,  218,  264 
Urns,  41 


Vases,  41,  284-285 

Vegetables,  7 

Venus,  119,  133,  159,  160,  219, 

221,  234,  238 
Venus  and  Adonis,  133 
Vermouth,  248 
Viola  odorata,  122 
Viola  tricolor,  200 


360 


INDEX 


Violet.  Violets,  7,  8,  10,  14,  18, 
21,  22,  30,  62,  73,  84,  122- 
129,  158,  178,  323 

Virgil,  261 

Virgin,  flowers  associated 
with,  130,  160,  164,  190,  234 

Viscum  album,  261 

Viedeman  de  Vries,  301 

W 

Wake  Robin,  209,  210 

Walks,  41 

Wall,  19,  40 

Wall  flowers,  22,  83 

Walpole,  Horace,  56 

Wanstead,  23 

Ware   Fark,  47 

Warden  pies,  210 

Wars  of  the  Roses,  38 

Water-lilies,  166 

Watson,  Forbes,  quoted,  95-97, 

104-106,   108,   116-118,  126, 

I58-IS9,  171,  212 
Whitehill,  Fountain  at,  286 
Windflower,  80,  133 
Windsor  Castle,  243 
Wine,  flowers  in,  129,  181,  248 


Winter  cherry,  22 

Winter's  Tale,  98,  108,  109,  in, 

123,  152,  190,  225,  237 
Wither,  George,  quoted,   195 
Wolfsbane,  81,  248,  250 
Wolsey  Cardinal,  274 
Wolsey,    Cardinal,    garden    of, 

20 

Woodbine,   50,  73,  74,   178 
Wordsworth,  132 
Wordsworth,  quoted,  112 
Wormwood,  8,  248 
Wotton,  Sir  Henry,  quoted,  47, 

158,  276 
Wreaths  and  garlands,  13,  128, 

181,  221,  234,  265 


Yellow     Rose     of      Constan- 
tinople, 37 

Yellow  Lark's  heels,  199 
York  and  Lancaster  rose,  154 
York  and  Lancaster  song,   155 


Zouche,  Lord,  garden  of,  35-36 


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